


Danganronpa 2: Repeat (reader x m. super danganronpa 2)[on another break, be back soon]

by Gogeta75



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Another Episode, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Airplanes, Alternate Universe, Character Death, Despair, Eventual Romance, Hope, Killing Game (Dangan Ronpa), Manga & Anime, Mind Control, Reader-Insert, Super Dangan Ronpa 2 Spoilers, Talented Reader, everyone is a simp, post dr2, reader - Freeform, slight AU, slight! spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:22:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 18
Words: 62,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24640798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gogeta75/pseuds/Gogeta75
Summary: “Open your eyes.”She did. Finally let go of the pull, the floor vibrated under her, and in a hollow state, she awoke in darkness.On a airplane that doesn't stop; it has no destination, just a continuous flight. The Ultimates are back, trapped in a new killing game just when they thought they had finally escaped the last one. Things are different now; it won't be that easy to escape. Everything is real. Can they survive this different situation they are thrown into? Can they fight against despair and win? Or will they lose hope? (Danganronpa 2 x Reader) (AU/New Setting) (Post Danganronpa 2/slight spoilers) (New Killing Game)BEWARE. MY VERSION ON QUOTEV IS UNEDITED & CRINGEWORTHY. PLEASE, STAY HERE AND WAIT FOR MORE THOUGHT-OUT, REVISED CHAPTERS. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
Relationships: Hinata Hajime/Reader, Komaeda Nagito/Reader, Kuzuryu Fuyuhiko/Reader, Naegi Makoto/Reader, Nidai Nekomaru/Reader, Reader/?, Reader/Everyone, Reader/Other(s), Soda Kazuichi/Reader, Tanaka Gundham/Reader, Togami Byakuya/Reader, slight! makoto/reader
Comments: 44
Kudos: 244





	1. 00

_ There she was, floating in an abyss of the darkest blue. Her breath was silent, chest light, as her body stilled in a cooling sensation. Her eyes were too heavy to open. _

_ Am I dreaming? She asked to nobody—the words rising and falling in her own mind. Hazy, and lost. A fog wisped by her, and she could feel it brushing across her nose. Her heart was steady, each beat echoing in the abyss.  _

_ I can’t open my eyes. She finally registered. Her body floated, rising up and down with her silent breaths, arms and legs limp to the void.  _

_ She could not place anything. She could not recall her past, her present, nor comprehend her future. She wasn’t sure who she was—nothing was lining up, nor connecting. She was just a thing, lost in a void. Why couldn’t she remember anything? Why was she so lost?  _

_ A vessel, is what she understood. An empty carcass. There she was—in her own casket. To die alone.  _

_ Where am I?  _

_ “You’re safe.” A voice answered, echoing through the darkness. Her throat tightened hearing the voice, fingers twitching trying to regain feeling.  _

_ I can’t move. _

_ “You’re safe.” She could identify the voice as male, repeating the same two words. Her body swayed, her eyebrows furrowing slightly.  _

_ Can you help me? _

_ “No. I’m sorry.” _

_ I’m sorry. She repeated the words in her mind, echoing the gentle voice. He sounded sad, and hollow.  _

_ Why are you sad? _

_ “Because I can’t help you.”  _

_ Her fingers twitched. She could feel her own hair brush against her face, tickling her cheek in a baring feeling that she couldn’t reach. She couldn’t move. It was beginning to scare her.  _

_ I can’t move.  _

_ “I’m sorry.”  _

_ Her heartbeat began to build, slowly as a pain shook through her body. Her once gentle eyelids began to crinkle as she was feeling herself begin to panic.  _

_ Am I dreaming? _

_ “No.”  _

_ I want to wake up.  _

_ “I can’t wake you up.” This voice, it sounded so familiar. So longing, yet so close. She wanted to reach out, touch the voice, hug the voice. But how could she when she was only a vessel of a human?  _

_ Why are you sad? _

_ “I can’t do anything.” _

_ Where am I? _

_ “I don’t know.”  _

_ Why? _

_ “I lost you. All of you.”  _

_ Yet, the voice was closer. She could feel it nearing her beating heart. Floating in this terrible, lonely void.  _

_ I think I’m forgetting something very important.  _

_ “You are.”  _

_ Her face went numb. Along with her body. Hovering in the thick darkness, she did not register the tears spilling down her face, drops of liquid floating into the abyss, only to disappear completely once they were out of her reach. Her body twitched, trying to rip itself out of its paralysis. She screamed, but it went silent.  _

_ I’m scared. _

_ “I know.”  _

_ I need to get out. _

_ “Yes.”  _

_ Her body twitched again. Her fingers uncurled from their tight grip—feeling a sharp pop as she regained feeling in the tips of fingers. Her elbows cut through, and a rush of cold swept through her arms. Very slowly, she reached out, arms outstretched to the void.  _

_ Are you here? _

_ “Yes.”  _

_ Her body stilled when she felt the presence of a body nearing. She could feel the fabric of clothing brushing against her skin. Her fingers tingled when she felt another's touch hers—their nails brushing against the pads of her fingers before they grazed all the way down her fingers. A cold wave passed through when she no longer felt the person’s fingers for a silent moment. The hands reached around her numb torso, wrapping around her with such careful and fondness, gently pulling her forward.  _

_ She felt the brush and wisps of soft hair against her tear-stained cheek. Her arms had lost feeling again. She couldn’t move again.  _

_ With all of her strength, her soft lips parted slowly, and she only whispered one word.  _

_ “Help.”  _

_ The grip around her tightened, and she could not feel the tears that were foreign to her own mixing as their cheek leaned into hers.  _

_ “Can you do something for me?” His soft voice whispered, near her ear.  _

_ I’m scared. Was her honest reply. _

_ “Can you open your eyes?”  _

_ I know you. Don’t I? _

_ “(name).”  _

_ Her fingers twitched. She suddenly felt heavy.  _

_ Lips parting, she spoke again. “(name)...” She whispered her own name. Her arms floated, and slowly, she wrapped her arms around the presence before her. She could feel the fabric of his clothing, the pads of her fingers just brushing over his smooth back. Her hands moved slowly up, as she felt the wisp of soft hair, tickling the sides of her fingers.  _

_ “They need you.” _

_ If I leave, you’ll be alone here.  _

_ She felt a smile against her cheek.  _

_ “You’ll see me again. I promise.” _

_ Her pounding heart finally stilled. Under her eyelids, she could see something brighten just before her. She could hear it sparkle and wink at her, gesturing her forward.  _

__

_ “(name).”  _

_ Slowly, she tightened her grip with her left arm, letting go of the hair ever so softly with her right, her right arm reached outward, beckoning towards the light. _

_ “Open your eyes.”  _

She did. Finally let go of the pull, the floor vibrated under her, and in a hollow state, she awoke in darkness. 

  
  



	2. 01

It didn't occur to (name) where she was until she realized that her eyes had been open for a while. It was so dark that she didn't even realize it. 

Her head pounded, as she groaned sitting up, rubbing her eyes in the darkness.

She placed her hands onto the ground, and the tingle as she brushed her fingers against the softer floor she could feel what felt like carpet. Slowly she stood, the vibrations and little bumps making her weak legs wobble as she hastily regained her balance. She stumbled around in the dark, using only her hands to feel in front of her, as she walked very slowly and cautiously. Her foot lightly kicked an object on the ground. She lowered herself, feeling for the object before she grabbed it, smoothing her hands over it. It was smooth, in the shape of a cylinder with a round top. An outward bump protruded from the side of the object, and she pressed into the soft rubber. A bright light cut in her face, making her wince from the sudden brightness. It was a flashlight.

She waved the flashlight around, and looked at her surroundings. She was currently in what looked like a hallway, long and narrow. She kept walking, and she reached the end that had a door to it. She opened it, and walked through, and tripped instantly against something that felt firm.

“Ah!” She yelped, looking at what caused her to trip. 

It was a man, with long, fluffy white pinkish hair, wearing a green jacket and a white t-shirt with a red streak. He looked pale in complexion, almost a tad blue. He seemed to be shivering too, but as she looked closely at his face, she gasped when she realized that she recognized him.

“Nagito?!” She began to shake the unconscious boy, praying that he wasn't dead. He groaned as his eyebrows furrowed and his eyes clenched shut. His breath was low and shaggy as he slowly opened his eyes, staring forward at (name). Subconsciously, he raised his hand to cup her cheek and gently caressed it as his vision cleared. 

“(name)?” He whispered in a heavy groan. She gave a gasp in relief, and hugged him. 

“Oh, thank god! I thought you were dead!” She released her grip around him, before looking towards the darkness. “ Do you have any idea of where we are?” 

Nagito paused for a moment, sitting up as he cupped his aching head.

“I have no idea. Someone as useless as me can't even remember.” 

“No it's okay, I don't remember either. Here, can you stand?” She helped him up, wrapping her arm around his waist, as he stood. He was a little wobbly, but quickly caught his balance. They walked aimlessly, until they faced a dark blue curtain. They looked at each other nervously, and opened the curtain. They immediately spotted two people in there, a boy with messy brown hair, and a girl with long blonde hair. As they made eye contact with each other, they screamed. 

“Ahh! Who the hell are you!” The boy shouted, almost turning blue. (name) flinched at the sudden loudness. 

“Us?! Who are you?!” (name) countered back. Nagito let out a small sigh, as he let go of you with a small smile on his face.

“(name), calm down. It's just Hajime and Sonia.” And it clicked. 

“Hajime? Sonia!” (name) beamed as she reached out to hug the two. 

“Sorry, I didn't know it was you!” Hajime said sheepishly. 

“It is most wonderful to see you two!” Sonia said happily. After a brief recognition of each other, Hajime explained that they were on an airplane, with the turbulence and bumps confirming that suspicion. Sonia had explained that they had all been searching the plane and that is when they ran into Nagito and (name). 

“Does that mean everyone else is here too?” (name) questioned eagerly, as the two nodded. 

“They should all be in the lounge. Come on.” Hajime gave a small smile, before leading Nagito and (name) towards the rest of their friends. 

They walked down the narrow hallway, before they entered through a large doorway that led to a large room. The interior was decorated in a red wallpaper, gold trimmings along the walls. Entering the lounge, seats and cushions of a velvet red furniture matched the wall design. 

Scattered about the large room where fifteen familiar faces. 

“Holy shit…” A certain blonde muttered, seeing the two enter. A flimsy smile crept on his face— 

“Nagito! And (name)!” A happy voice sounded, before she was suddenly crushed in a tight grip along with Nagito. 

“A-Akane…! Good to see you…” (name) croaked out with the remaining breath she had. The others offered their own form of a greeting, smiles and relief replacing (name)’s once anxiety and fear. 

— 

The seventeen of them stood together in a group, in the plane’s biggest lounge, to talk about what had led them to the situation they were in. It seemed similar, but they weren't sure why. 

“So, did everyone here just wake up and find themselves on the airplane?” Fuyuhiko inquired. Everyone nodded, and furrowed their brows, trying to think but they were just as confused as anyone else in the room. Suddenly, it occurred to (name) something curious. 

“Hey, doesn't this seem weird? I mean, we woke up in a place we don't know how or when we entered? I feel like I'm having deja vu.” (name) said while scratching the back of her neck. 

“Hey, wait a minute! I feel the same!” Hajime nodded, chiming in. 

“Now that Ibuki thinks about it, it does feel strange.” Ibuki agreed. 

“It's almost like—Ah!” (name) began, before a flash sparked in her mind and then it suddenly hit. Hard. It was all coming back to (name); the killings, the school trip, Monomi, the class trials, everything! Junko, and Monokuma. “The killing school trip! That's what it feels like! Do you remember? What Monokuma put us through?” 

“That's right! But, we beat Junko Enoshima. So, how did we get here? Don't tell me we are in a virtual world again!” Kaizuichi cried out, hands flying to grip his beanie tightly. 

“If that has already happened, then how are the people who died, here again?” Byakuya questioned, not earning an answer. After that, everyone went quiet. Nothing was making sense. It shouldn’t have been like this. They beat Junko. It should’ve been done and over this. They should’ve been saved—batting despair like they were meant to. They all looked around at each other, trying to inquire what was going on. Before anyone could say anything, a faint, yet familiar chuckle hung in the air. The monitors on the plane lit up, just above the small counter in the corner of the room of the lounge. Flickering with static, (name) felt her heart stop when she placed that ominous chuckle. She could never forget it. It haunted her, and would most likely continue to do so until she died. 

A black and white bear was the star of the screen. The eerie grin that hung from the left side of his face blared shiny white, and the dark mist of despair seeped into everyone’s core. 

_ Monokuma.  _

Next to him, there are two other bears. One pure white, with a shy smile, who seemed to be whimpering and shivering at his own shadow. He had a dirty white bandage wrapped around his eye. And beside him, was a bear that was straight black, wearing a fedora hat with red and white feather on it, with an eye patch with a tiny heart covering his right eye. The black bear had a black tie, and golden chain with a padlock, with a star-shaped charm. 

“Woohoo! The party has arrived! And when I mean party, I mean me! Kurokuma!” The black bear yelled obnoxiously into the intercom. 

“Kurokuma, quiet! We don't even know these people!” The white bear said quietly under breath. 

“Ah, shut your fucking yap Shirokuma! I’m my own bear!” The bear—Kurokuma said as he smacked the white bear—Shirokuma. He yelped in pain as he grabbed his head. 

“Upupupupu. You guys must be confused. It's me! I am Monokuma!” Monokuma yelled out.

“And I'm Kurokuma! The best of the best!”

“Uh, I'm S-Shirokuma. Um, hi?” 

Everyone stood next to each other, eyes wide and mouths parted, watching the three bears as they introduced each other. This couldn’t be—Monokuma was destroyed, along with the virtual world. And now, there were two more bears that they had no idea of. 

It was quiet, everyone registering what they were seeing, questions running amok in their heads until finally Kazuichi broke the silence of the room, shouting out what everyone was thinking. “What the fuck?!”

And soon after that, everyone was in a frenzy. 

“I-I do not understand! Why are there three Monokumas?!” Sonia said while her face turned pale with a hint of blue. 

“Ububububu!” Ibuki sputtered as foam spilled out of her mouth. 

“This…! This doesn't make any sense! We… We beat you! So how are you here?!” Hajime questioned, cold sweat beading up on his forehead. 

But all Monokuma did, was laugh. The same, maniacal chuckle shook through (name)’s body, and it physically made her shiver. 

_ “Pupupupupupu!”  _

  
  



	3. 02

“Monokuma! Why are you here! You are supposed to be gone, goddammit!” Fuyuhiko declared with his fist clenched. 

“Who cares about that~? Let's have some fun!” Monokuma blared as he smacked his paw on the button in front of him. Suddenly the three bears appeared in front of (name) causing her to flinch and jump back, bumping into Peko who steadied her. The black bear that stood straight in front of her seemed to grin even bigger. 

“Hey hey hey! This one’s kinda cute! I call dibs!” Kurokuma declared as he pointed and winked at (name), who grimaced in fright and disgust.

“Kurokuma, stop it! Look, you are scaring her!” Shirokuma scolded him. But then, Kurokuma swiftly reached out and grabbed (name) and kissed the top of her hand. The guys silently growled.

“Aw, don't worry, babe, I don't bite. Hard.” (name) retracted her hands quickly and wiped her hands off on her clothes.

“Annnnyyway… Let's start!” Monokuma clapped his hands. 

“Hm? Start what exactly?” Byakuya inquired. 

“The games, of course! Here’s how it's going to work. I'm going to give you a riddle, or a puzzle, and if you pick the right answer, I'll grant you another level of this airplane, and maybeeee a couple of reasons about why you're here. But if you pick the wrooong answer, I'm going to inject someone in this room with a liquid.”

“What kind of liquid?” Nagito asked. 

“The liquid that I will inject, is a _killing_ liquid.” 

“A killing liquid?! I don't want that!” Hiyoko squealed. 

“The killing liquid will give you the intent to kill someone; it shuts off all emotion and thoughts. Let's call it, Injection X! But it won't be obvious that you have been injected with it. It could be in your food, your drink, or even your bathtub!” 

“Buuuuut, there is a cure to the injection. You'll just have to figure that out yourself though.” Monokuma teased, a black paw trying to hide his insane giggles. 

“Wha-What?!” Mahiru yelled out in shock. 

Kurokuma chuckled. “So you better get the answer right! But if you even think about killing (name), I'll blow your fucking head off!” 

“Let's get this started! You ready for your first riddle?” Monokuma laughed out loud, his paws on his chest clenching his stomach. “Riddle 1! I'll make this one easy! What is the oldest thing you can see? See, that's not too bad!” 

Everyone stood still, puzzled. (name) repeated the riddle in her head, frowning when nothing came to mind.

“Ibuki doesn't get it!” She said while scratching her head and looking down at the floor. 

“Does this thing exist on the plane?” Peko asked the bear. 

“Upupupup!” Monokuma chuckled under his teeth. 

(name) looked around at her surroundings. All she saw were lounging chairs, a few couches, a large dinner table, a small counter decorated with bottles and drinks and some old chairs. She then set her gaze on Nagito, who had poker faced expression on his face, as if he had the answer. 

“Nagito, do you have an answer?” (name) questioned to which he simply smiled and nodded at her. 

“YOU DO? TELL US THEN!” Nekomaru boomed at him, awaiting his answer. Soon, everyone was looking at him, awaiting the answer too.

“Think about it, the riddle is ‘What is the oldest thing you can see?’. He never said ‘oldest thing on the plane’.” 

“Oh he didn't! So the answer isn't on the plane.” Mahiru confirmed. 

“If it ain’t in the plane, then it could be anything in the world!” Akane sighed deeply. 

“How big is it? Are we talking buildings?” Mahiru spoke, fumbling with her camera nervously. 

“I imagine it must be quite big if it is extremely old.” Gundham’s dark voice 

“I-I don’t get it! I don’t know what’s too big and what’s not! Well, actually—“ Teruteru shouted frantically, before a creepy smirk smeared on his face.

“Oh, cut it out, you perv! Geez! You haven’t changed at all, fat dumb idiot!” Hiyoko snarled.

“Says you!” Kazuichi sounded, gripping his beanie in a nervous state. 

“Focus!” Byakuya shouted to the chaos, hushing everyone. “It has to be something even you commoners can easily see, no matter where you are. Nothing too extravagant. Maybe something you could see on a daily basis.” 

_Something that they could all see, no matter where they were. Big enough, for them all to see...on a daily basis…_

It took (name) a couple of seconds before something came into mind, shouting it out before she could truly comprehend what she was thinking. 

“The stars!” (name) yelled, and hearing an echo beside her she was surprised that Hajime had yelled the same thing. They must have had the same thought process. 

“The stars? I don't get it.” Akane said while scratching her head. 

“Think about it. The oldest thing you can see? No matter where you are? It's the stars above you. They are billions of years old!” Hajime explained and it all made sense. 

“ _Ding Ding Ding_! You got it!” Monokuma screeched as he placed his paws on his stomach once again. “Soooooo, I won't inject anyone with the Injection X… This time…” He chuckled under his breath and seeped into the floor, along with Kurokuma and Shirokuma. 

The room went quiet when the three bears disappeared, and silence crept into the room. 

The monitor lit up once again, this time with Shirokuma. 

“Um, hi! I was supposed to tell you that your rooms are located past the kitchen, the first door on your right. Have a good night's sleep!” And with those instructions, the monitor turned off and the screen went black. 

“Our rooms, huh?” Fuyuhiko whispered to himself. 

“I guess we should get some sleep then huh? Well then good night.” Chiaki yawned, drool started to pour out of her mouth. She left through the kitchen. 

Soon, everyone agreed to head to bed for the night. Entering her room, (name) was surprised by how spacious it was. The room was nice, carpeted in that deep red. It came equipped with a bathroom with a full shower, bath and toilet. The bed was comfy and soft, dressed in black sheets that made her shiver on first touch. 

But although, it was comfortable, (name) couldn't sleep. She had too many questions. She was too anxious to sleep—fear and paranoia creeping into her body and every time she closed her eyes for a moment, she had the oddest sensation as if she was paralyzed. Her eyes snapped open in the darkness, and the feeling was so familiar, yet agonizing since she could not place it. She wanted to wrap the blankets around her face and pretend that nothing could get to her, but she knew that wasn't possible. As she kept worrying about what would happen, her eyes began to droop and she soon fell asleep. 

**—**

The sudden sound of a bell rung out throughout the whole airplane, causing (name) to shake and wake up. She woke up to Monokuma’s annoying wake up call, saying it was time to get up. As she closed her eyes once again, to see if she could get anymore sleep, another sharp voice echoed through her room.

“Good morning, babe! Wake up and smell the flowers!” 

_Kurokuma._ She growled through her teeth. She opened her eyes to see the black bear grinning in front of her, holding a bouquet of dead, dried up flowers. 

“What are you doing here?” It came off just as harsh as she intended, as she sat up from her lying position.

“Ooh, feisty! I'm here to wake you up! What kind of guy would I be if I didn't?”

“You'd still be a bear.” She replied sarcastically dry, not intending to be amusing. He chuckled. 

“Funny, beautiful and feisty! My kind of girl! Did you know I'm a famous rapper?”

“Get out.” (name) as she rubbed her eyes and began to sit up in her bed. Then there was a knock on her door. 

“(name)! Hello? Are you awake?” It was Nagito. She crawled out of bed, yawning and shivering from the cold from not being under the blankets. 

She opened the door, still yawning. “Good— _yawn_ —morning, Nagito.” He was quiet for a second, while a pinkish hue grazed his cheeks, but it soon disappeared. 

“Hello. I came to wake you up to see if you were—What is he doing here?” Nagito cut off his own sentence, voice dropping cold as his eyes caught sight of Kurokuma. 

“What does it matter to you?!” Kurokuma yelled at Nagito. “I was visiting my girlfriend, not like you would understandcauseyouaintneverhadagirlfriendbeforeand-” The black bear started rambling, talking so fast she couldn't comprehend what he was saying. (name) just shook her head in annoyance and turned to the white haired boy. 

“This little pest came and woke me up. Just ignore him.” (name) said with a poker faced expression. 

“Well anyway, everyone is waiting in the main lounge, including Monokuma.” Nagito stated with a serious expression.

“Alright, just let me get ready and I'll meet you there okay?” Nagito nodded and smiled at her and then walked towards the main lounge. 

“I guess, this leaves me and you, huh babe?” 

“Get out!” One thing lead to another and she grabbed Kurokuma and hurled him outside, as his body slid from down the wall, while he clutched his head in pain. 

**—**

As (name) was walking to the main lounge, she heard a familiar squeak. She looked around and on the floor was Cham-P, one of Gundham’s most loved hamsters, gazing up at her, with (what looked like) a smile. 

_Hm, did Gundham lose him or something? Well I should probably bring him back before Gundham starts to really worry._

(name) held out her hand to the shaking hamster, who jumped into her hand and the next thing she knew, he was sitting on top of her head. She smiled and patted his head, and continued walking. 

When she made it to the main lounge, it was loud. She could hear Gundham rambling about losing one of his Dark Devas of Destruction, and everyone trying to calm him down. 

“Um, guys?” She tried to gain the attention of everyone, but no one seemed to be listening. She quickly got impatient and yelled out, “Guys!”

The room got silent as everyone's eyes were now on her. She reached up and softly grabbed Cham-P who was sitting on her head, and walked towards Gundham. 

“I was walking here when I found Cham-P. So here you go!” (name) said with a big smile on your face, as Gundham, sank his head into his scarf hiding his blush.

“T-thank you, mortal.” She nodded happily. 

“So, what's going on? Why are we gathered here again?” (name) inquired with a yawn. Monokuma began chuckling, and no one spoke up until Chiaki started to speak. 

“Monokuma has another riddle for us.” With those set of words was enough to turn (name)’s mood upside down. She knew what it meant and she wasn't ready for it. She wasn't ready to risk losing one of her friends.

“So what's the riddle?” Hajime declared with a serious expression. 

“Puhuhuhu! So eager, Hajime! Well, well, I'll give it to ya!” Monokuma chirped as he paused, as if waiting for a dramatic moment. 

“ _You have business on the eighth floor of a 10-story building. It took you 48 seconds to make your way from the first floor to the fourth. If you keep moving at the same speed, how long will it take for you to reach the eighth floor from the tenth?”_

It was dead silent. Everyone shared the same look, dumbfounded on such a complicated puzzle. 

“How—? How are we supposed to know that you bastard!” Fuyuhiko yelled while turning pale. 

“Is anyone's Ultimate Talent puzzle-solving?” Kaizuchi said shakily, while chuckling nervously.

“Wahhh!! We’re gonna dieeee!!” Hiyoko squealed with tears dribbling out of her eyes. Sonia spoke trying to calm everyone down, but to no avail. (name) began to feel a whirl of chaos, settling into her body. Being known as the Ultimate Mentalist, she had a heightened level of fright pounding into her body that she knew that wasn’t only her own. Surrounded by friends in distraught, an involuntary response of her talent was to feel the emotions of others. 

“48 seconds to make it to the first floor from the fourth…” Nagito mumbled while rubbing his hand against his chin. 

It was like that for a while. People just stumbling, and murmuring to themselves trying to figure out the answer, but nothing was adding up or beginning to make sense. 

“I'm getting impatient. You got 10 seconds left.” Monokuma said in an ominous voice, causing the group's hearts to beat quickly with fear. 

“Is the answer 62 seconds?” Chiaki said among the murmurs. For a split second, Monokuma’s red eye glinted. 

“That is correct— _wrong_! Sooo close! It was 64 seconds!” 

And at that moment, everyone's hearts stopped. They knew what this meant. 

“Puhuhuhu! You should see your faces! Filled with such despair~! You know what this means! Someone's going to be injected with Injection X! Ooh! I better get it started! See ya!” With that he disappeared from the floor. 

Once again, it was dead silent. Until a loud scream of terror came from Mikan. 

And soon after that, everyone began panicking. Constant tears, murmurs, and screams were the only things you could hear. 

“So someone is going to be injected huh?” Nagito stated. 

Hajime nodded. “Yeah, and we won't know when or how he's going to do it.” 

“He's bluffing! I refuse to believe it!” Teruteru said while yanking on his long hair. 

“Uh oh, this ain't good.” Akane said nervously while rubbing her head. 

“P-please..! We must stay calm!” Sonia helped out, even though the nervousness in her voice was clearly evident. 

“Ibubububu…!” Ibuki’s mouth foamed as her eyes rolled to the back of her head, fainting as Peko caught her. 

Suddenly, (name) was hit by a flash of images, causing her to feel dizzy and a little wobbly, but she kept her cool and shook it off.

“Why is this happening…?” (name) muttered, a low groan escaping her as her body swayed, causing the others to look at her with concern. 

“(name)! Are you okay?” Mikasa asked while taking a step closer, face decorated in that familiar concern designated by an Ultimate Nurse. 

“Uh, yeah I'm fine, just feeling a little dizzy. I'm gonna go take a walk.” With that she walked away through the automatic doors. 

“What should we do then? Just wait until someone kills someone?” Teruteru had spoken when it went quiet again. 

“I guess, we should try and explore some more. And after that, we can take a nap.” Chiaki yawned through her mouth with a slight drool slipping through. She walked away too, and soon the others followed. They split up into different sections of the floor and continued their search. 

  


**FREE TIME**

  


(name) after resting up and slightly feeling better, she walked through the automatic doors into the smaller lounge. She saw a mop of white fluffy hair, and confirmed it as Nagito. He felt lighter as he set his gaze on her, and his heart beat faster. 

“Oh, hey Nagito.” She said with a small, tired smile. 

“Hello, (name). Are you feeling any better?” 

“Yeah.” _No._ “I just needed a little rest is all.” _I can still feel the despair._

_“_ That's good. Hey, you want to hang out with me?” He said with slight nervousness, expecting to be shot down quickly. 

“Sure! Sounds fun.” Her smile brightened slightly. The color red crept onto his cheeks, but soon disappeared as he recollected himself. 

They walked around the plane, and talked about all kinds of things, from Hajime’s hair to Nekomaru’s loudness. They returned to where they began, in the smaller lounge that connected to the dorm rooms. 

“Thank you (name). For hanging out with someone as useless as me.” Nagito began. 

“Don't say that. You aren't useless, Nagito.” She urged him, a sad smile decorating her face. Nagito looked shocked, as if he never heard someone say that to him before. And it was true.

“I appreciate that. Thanks.” 

“No problem. I’ll see you around, okay?” And she walked off. He watched her go, and smiled to himself as he felt light again. 

  


**—**

  


Since (name) had more time to spare, she decided she’d spend it with someone. She walked around until she saw pink hair with a cute bunny bag, sitting on the couch. It seemed like she was thinking intently.

“Hey Chiaki!” She beamed, waving across the room. She shook out of her daze and gave a small smile to the girl.

“Oh hello (name). How are you feeling?” 

“I'm okay. What about you?” (name) quickly changed the subject. 

“I'm fine. Kinda sleepy though.” And she yawned. (name) chuckled at the girl in front of her. She’s _always_ tired. 

“Hey, you wanna hang out?” The pink haired girl smiled and nodded. They talked about video games, some anime and manga, and simple high school girl things. They also talked about what they were going to do, since someone is going to die soon. Just the thought of that made (name) shiver, but having Chiaki next to her made her feel better. 

There was something that felt odd to (name). The fact that being on an airplane with a bunch of people was nice and all, but it didn't feel right. She could clearly remember the killing school life, and the fact that they were stuck in a virtual reality. They had solved everything and beat Monokuma. They created a new world for themselves. _A world of hope._ So why did everything feel so off? Like some things aren't supposed to be there?

Soon enough, (name) was brought out of her own thoughts as the bell alerting everyone that it was 10:00 PM rang throughout the plane, and she parted with Chiaki giving her a hug and waving. 

As (name) was walking to her room, she had a sense of deja vu. She then felt dizzy, and lost her balance and fell to the floor. _It's happening again._ More flashes of pictures shot through her head, almost causing her to scream in pain. She could feel sweat glisten on her forehead as a pounding headache raged through her. The flashes were of someone, but she couldn't tell who and then it went to red.

Soon, the images started to slow down, and she wasn't in pain anymore, so she slowly stood up. But as she was able to stand up, she got another feeling. Like she was being watched. She stood still, engaging herself to all the noises around her. She could hear distant talking, and footsteps from everyone else heading to bed. Then she heard a shuffle. She quickly turned to the corner, trying to place what it might be, but it soon disappeared. 

She swallowed the spit that had been sitting in her mouth, with her heart beating wildly. Again, she heard a shuffle behind her. Gasping, she turned around fast, only to see Nekomaru. 

“(name)? What are you doing here? You should be sleeping! You need rest so you can eat well and then take a good shit!” His loud voice boomed throughout the hallway. 

She sighed in relief, and sent a nervous smile to the tall man. 

“Yeah, sorry, I'll get to sleep right now.” With a small wave, she left for her room. But after she had finished getting ready for bed and turned off the lights and was in her bed, she couldn't shake the feeling. So she couldn't sleep either. The time was now 11:56 PM. 

Her mind said no, but her body started moving. She walked out of her room, greeting the dark hallway and quietness. She walked through room to room, checking to make sure nothing went wrong. She walked towards the First Class Lounging Room, but before she entered, she heard a shuffling further in. A torrent of angry grunts and objects hitting the ground sounded beyond the doorway. (name) scooted away carefully and slowly—her heart pounding so loudly it rang in her ears as a cold glaze settled over her. She quickly decided she needed to leave. Before something terrible happened. 

She backed up slowly, but as her foot shifted all the weight went onto that foot, and the floor squeaked. 

The noises beyond the doorway stopped completely, and she suddenly heard a shift of footsteps getting closer to her. 

It was enough to get (name) running, and she sprinted for her room. She could hear the footsteps behind her, but she didn't look back, she was too much filled with terror. She jumped into her room and ran for the bed, and covered herself with the blankets. She pretended to be sleeping, and steady out her heartbeat.

She could hear the footsteps outside the room, the person probably trying to figure out which room. But the footsteps walked away, and subsided. (name) was too scared to even move, so she stayed in bed until she was calm, and forced herself to sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, thanks for reading! This is like super fun/challenging to write because I have to think of the class trials and who dies, who the killers are, contradictions, murder scenarios, punishments, all while trying to keep it interesting, and full of thrills and excitement for you guys. I plan to have some stuff from Another Episode as well, but that is going to be way further in the story. We are just getting started though, so i am super excited for you all to keep reading! 
> 
> if things are kinda out of place or the grammar is a bit weird i am still editing some things out and moving stuff around, so plz bare with me.
> 
> anyway, i hope you all enjoyed, and thanks for reading! see you soon!


	4. 03

(name) woke up to the bright sun outside the plane window. She assumed the early Monokuma announcement had already occurred, but she didn't want to wake up. She didn't want to move, she didn't want to do anything. After what happened last night, she was too scared to even walk out of the door. 

But she knew that she would have to wake up. She'd have to face whatever stood in her way today, even if she didn't want to. 

She did her morning routine, showering, brushing her teeth, etc. She wore her designated attire of black harem pants that swayed when she walked, along with a mossy green shirt, tucked into the pants. Clipping on her necklace—a beautiful thin lining that had a crystal hooked onto it. It was a special gift from her parents. 

She slipped on her brown sandals, and walked out of the door. 

But when she went to the main lounge, no one was there. She questioned where they could've gone, seeing that it was not likely that they couldn't have left the plane. Then a room came into mind. _The First Class Lounge Room._

She was running, and when she got there, everyone was there too. 

“Hey! What's going on?” She called out, earning everyone’s attention as they turned to her, and looked pale. 

“Hey… What's-” And that's when her world felt like it was crumbling. 

It was Ibuki, saturated in blood. She had stab wounds throughout her stomach, blood spilling out of her mouth, and a sad look on her face. 

(name) just shook her head, shocked with wide eyes. She couldn't believe it. Ibuki Mioda, the Ultimate Musician, died right in front of her. 

“What…?” (name) was gripping her head, as she mumbled the words. She closed her eyes, and almost thought that if she closed them long enough that the body in front of her would disappear, and Ibuki would be smiling at her. But, even when she closed her eyes, she could still smell the sharp metallic blood. 

“No...Ibuki…” 

(name) was breathing heavily now, trying to calm herself down. 

“We need to stay calm.” Chiaki spoke up amidst the silence. “A death has occurred, so now we have to figure out who the killer is. If we work together, then we can do this.” Her calming words seemed to calm them down, and she nodded. 

She heard a ding in her pocket, and she pulled it out to the E-Handbook that Monokuma had given to everyone. 

**FIRST MURDER: IBUKI MIODA**

(name) swallowed her saliva and took a deep breath. 

**LOCATION: FIRST CLASS LOUNGE ROOM (1st FLOOR)**

**CAUSE OF DEATH: BLUNT FORCE TRAUMA TO THE HEAD**

**EXTRA NOTES: THE VICTIM HAS MULTIPLE STAB WOUNDS THROUGH THE LOWER ABDOMEN, CAUSING BLOOD LOSS**

_Multiple stab wounds? Who would do that?_

(name) took a deep breath, settling her nerves with a harsh sigh.

“Hey (name), come here for a second.” She heard Nagito call out to her. 

“Yes?” He handed her a note, which was crumpled and had a couple of blood stains on it. 

She opened it. It read: 

_Hey, can you help me in the kitchen? Monokuma asked me to prepare breakfast for tomorrow, but it’s a lot of work to just do by myself. Meet me in the First Class Lounge at 11:30 PM._

(name) scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. 

“11:30 pm? What a strange time to want to get breakfast set up.” (name) observed, eyeing the contents of the letter with furrowed brows. 

“Not to mention that through the kitchen there’s nothing even prepared.” Nagito added, earning a curious nod from (name). 

“That is weird. Was there anything else like this around?” 

“Nope, just a note by Ibuki’s body.” 

(name) nodded with grimace. Glancing over, with Ibuki’s body sprawled on the ground with her back on the floor, covered in blood, she swallowed the lump in her throat. Walking over, she leaned near Ibuki’s body. 

“I’m sorry, Ibuki.” (name) muttered, hand reaching for her crystal, before she took a deep breath, hardening her resolve. 

The sight was gruesome. Her clothes were ripped from the puncture wounds, leaving a dark red to pool in the wounds. Her face was pale, eyes lost in an empty void. (name) reached up and closed her eyes softly. 

“Mikan?” 

“Y-yes?” 

“Could… you do an autopsy? I think it’ll be useful for the trial.” 

The nurse nodded agitatedly, taped hands locking together in her state of nervousness. “O-of course! It’ll take some time...B-b-but I’ll do m-my best!” 

(name) gave a small smile. “Thanks.” She stood, before hearing another voice calling out to her. 

“Hey, (name)!” Hajime called out, motioning to her. Her eyes danced to him, before making her way over. 

“What’s up?” (name) inquired, as he motioned for her to follow, just before the doorway of the kitchen. 

“Doesn’t this blood seem a little weird to you?” 

She looked down into the red rug. Indeed, she could see the splotches of blood decorating the rug. Although it was hard for it to be completely visible, due to the color of the airplane’s rug. 

“The blood? You can’t even see it!” Nekomaru suddenly appeared behind (name), shouting behind her causing her to flinch. 

“Yes you can!” Hajime quickly replied, tilting her head slightly. “You just gotta...find the right angle…”

“I don’t know, Hajime, it is pretty hard to see.” (name) agreed with Nekomaru, tilting her head to find the right angle as well. 

She felt a small tug on her pants, and she flinched when her space was suddenly interrupted by the white bear, Shirokuma. (name) gasped slightly, jumping back.

“A-ah!” She yelped, as the white bear flinched as well, jumping back and mimicking her expression.

“A-ah!” Shirokuma yelped. 

Hajime sighed. “What?” He spat at the white bear, who now was visibly shaking, held up a small white spray bottle. 

“I-I-I think you might need this…”

Nekomaru swiped the bottle from the bear’s hand, eyeing the name of the substance inside. “Glow Concoction X… What’s that?” 

“It’s a chemical that makes any kind of liquid, wet or dry, glow super bright. Completely safe! Just make sure you turn off the lights for greater effect!” Shirokuma stated, placing his paws proudly on his hips. 

“That could help.” (name) nodded, before turning to Shirokuma. “Thanks.” 

Shirokuma seemed to flinch again, a flurry of pink decorating his cheeks as he nodded, disappearing completely. 

“Should we use it right away?” Hajime asked, as (name) nodded, before another idea. 

“Oh, wait! Mahiru!” She called out to the red head, who was engaging in conversation with Chiaki, before she made her way over. 

“You called for me?” 

(name) nodded. “Shirokuma just gave us this glow spray so we can look at the dried blood over here, so could you take a picture of it?” 

Hajime’s eyebrows raised in a pleasant surprise. “Oh yeah! Good idea. Yeah, could you take a picture of it when it glows?” 

“O-oh, sorry guys, my camera is still charging in my room!” Mahiru answered, earning a slight furrow of the brows from (name), who frowned slightly. 

“Oh, so you don’t have it with you?” Hajime inquired. 

Mahiru shook her head. “Nope. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help.” She walked off. 

“That’s alright! I’ll memorize it! I’m not very smart, but when I really put my head in the game, nothing can defeat me!” Nekomaru suggested, as (name) turned to him with a flimsy smile. 

“Alright. Ready, Hajime?” 

Hajime made his way over to the light switch, as Nekomaru handed (name) the glow serum. When he flicked the light switch, ignoring the sharp gasps from around the room, she sprayed the serum. Indeed it glowed pretty vibrantly, making it much easier to spot. It was a pool of blood, yet there was an odd jagged gap that abruptly cut across the pool of blood, about a couple inches apart. 

“Weird…” (name) muttered.

“Okay! I got it!” Nekomaru shouted excitedly.

Hajime flicked on the light again, and the glow was still vibrant, it faded out with the light. 

“Alright! I’m gonna go jot it down before I forget completely! Don’t worry (name)! You can count on me! Nekomaru Nidai!” Nekomaru boomed, dashing out of the lounge with excitement and vigor. 

“Well… at least he’s excited.” (name) let out a huff of amusement, as Hajime nodded with a small smile. 

“I’m gonna look around here some more. You should check out the kitchen if you haven’t already.” Hajime suggested, as (name) nodded, exiting the lounge and heading to the lounge. 

“You dumbass! Stop eating that!” (name) heard Fuyuhiko’s voice from the kitchen as she entered, seeing him slap Akane’s hand, causing her to drop something from the ground.

“Awww, come on, baby gangsta, I’m hungry…” Akane groaned, rubbing her stomach.

“What’s going on, guys?” (name) smiled, as Fuyuhiko’s gold eyes flicked towards her in relief. 

“(name)! Tell this bottomless pit to stop eating everything!” 

“Did you not get anything to eat, Akane?” 

Akane shook her head, tears seeming to bead in her eyes. “I tried to eat those chewing things but he won’t let me.” Akane pointed towards the ground, as (name) followed her finger.

“Because that ain’t food, you idiot!” 

(name) bent down, eyeing it closer. It was chunks of black plastic, riddled with teeth marks from Akane. She picked a piece up—it was thin and tough, and she did not fail to see smeared marks of red decorating a few of them. 

“This is plastic, Akane. I don’t think it’s edible.” 

“Aw, man! When am I gonna eat?” Akane mumbled, as (name) gathered the pieces, stuffing them into the pocket of her pants. 

“You think that’s any important?” Fuyuhiko inquired after watching (name) pick up the pieces, who offered him a smile. 

“I’m not sure, but it might be something.” Fuyuhiko nodded.

“I’ll keep lookin’ around here. Gotta keep an eye on Akane and make sure she doesn't eat anything weird.” Fuyuhiko shot (name) a small smirk, as (name) nodded, leaving the kitchen. 

(name) was feeling especially tired, and wanted to sort out her thoughts. Heading to the Main Lounge, she plopped down on the couch, massaging her head from the headache growing on her tired body. She often forgot that being near a bunch of people weighed her mind down, feeling their mixed emotions squeezed around her brain. It was something that she needed to work on, but her friends were the most precious to her—she could not stand to just distance herself away from them all the time. 

Thinking about the case, all she had were a few clues, and nothing else to lead to any idea of who the killer was. Was there actually a killer? Would someone really kill Ibuki so gruesomely? How could this happen? Why are they here? Why?

A million questions ran through her head, as she gazed around the room of the lounge. At first just lazily, eyes darting to different objects, when her eyes fell to something near the doorway leading to the dorms. Her eyebrows furrowed as she squinted at it, only seeing some dark standing out from the dashing red carpet. Standing from the couch, she walked over, bending over to pick it up. 

It was a dark brown, almost black. It was extremely thin, and smooth, as she rubbed it between her thumbs. It glinted when the luminescent light hit it. It was small, and rectangular, framed with these repeated holes all along the sides. She had a feeling she knew what it was. 

“(name)!” She turned quickly, being sent out of her thoughts to see Nagito. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” 

(name) quickly shook her head, placing the smooth material into her pocket. “No, it’s okay! Is everything okay?” 

“Monokuma says it’s time.” 

(name) felt her heart seize slightly, before she let out a nervous breath. Just a few moments ago, she was completely lost, but now, she knew.

One of them really _was_ a killer. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oooooh we getting into it now. first death, and now we are heading into our first trial.... who do you think it is?
> 
> find out next time! stay tuned!


	5. 04

The monitor lit up brightly, with Monokuma sitting there in front of it with the same eager, creepy grin. Monokuma’s design was enough to strip (name) of all hope she has collected, and anxious un-rhythmic thumping of her heart. 

“The class trial is about to begin! I can almost taste the despair! Now hurry up you bastards and let's get it started!” The bear screeched as he started laughing. Everyone mentally groaned, and walked towards the door that led to the class trial. It was followed by a long dark hallway. As they moved towards the end, the students were approached by a bright blinding light. As their eyes adjusted, they came across a room with seventeen different podiums, with Ibuki’s face scratched out. (name) decided to place herself in between Nagito and Nekomaru. 

“Now, for a quick review of the class trial. You will present your arguments for ‘whodunit’, and you will vote for who is the ‘blackened’. If you pick the right person, I'll punish only them. But if you pick the wrrooong person, I'll punish everyone besides the blackened, and that person earns the right to leave this aircraft! You guys already know the drill. Sooo, let's get it started!” 

“Ugh, not this again.” Kazuichi said as he released a frustrated sigh while clutching the top of his hat.

(name) looked towards Monokuma, who sat like a king on his extravagant throne of his, while Kurokuma and Shirokuma stood on each side, as if serving as Monokuma’s minions. 

“I guess we should get started then, huh?” Chiaki said as she put her hood up. 

“So we should start with the murder weapon. It was a knife right? From the kitchen?” Kaizuchi spoke up. 

“Like a big kitchen knife? Wouldn't we have noticed if one of those went missing?” Byakuya inquired. 

“No, the kitchen was very disorganized. I couldn't even find a spatula when I was in there!” Teruteru countered back. 

“So, Teruteru, did you do it?” Nagito said calmly, with a small smirk on his face. Teruteru was silent for what seemed like a couple of minutes, mouth fallen agape before he yelped.

“What?! I didn't do it!” 

“But you are the one who's always in the kitchen. You could have easily just grabbed a knife and went on your way.” 

“You’re crazy. I would never!” Bead of sweat started to form on Teruteru’s forehead. Nagito stared at him hard, and then simply chuckled. 

“I know you didn't do it. It'd be way too easy to figure out if you were the killer.” He rubbed the back of his neck as he kept chuckling. Teruteru looked dumbfounded, as his mouth was gaped towards Nagito. 

“Anyway, we should figure out why Ibuki was in the First Class Lounge Room in the first place.” Fuyuhiko declared, trying to move on from the time that was just wasted. 

“Oh, she got a note from the killer!” (name) said as she pulled it out from her sweater pocket. “ _Hey, can you help me in the kitchen? Monokuma asked me to prepare breakfast for tomorrow, but it’s a lot of work to just do by myself. Meet me in the First Class Lounge at 11:30 PM.”_

“I don’t know, but I’m getting the feeling it _was_ Teruteru.” Akane incited, arm crossed as she stood with a lazy expression. 

“It _wasn’t_ me! I may be the Ultimate Chef, but that doesn’t mean I’m in the only one who can go into the kitchen!” Teruteru shouted, sweat dripping from his face. 

“Yeah, it’s not enough evidence to pin it on Teruteru. Yet.” Hajime nodded. Teruteru yelped again. 

“What do you mean _yet?!”_

(name) nodded. “Like Nagito said, pinning it on Teruteru would be too obvious.” 

“Maybe we should talk about something else. Accusing random people won’t help us.” Chiaki instructed, earning an agreeable movement across the room. 

“Perhaps we should discuss our alibis?” Sonia suggested. 

“It wasn’t me! I went to bed right at Monokuma’s dumb announcement!” Hiyoko quickly alarmed everyone. 

“H-hey! So did I!” Kazuichi chimed in, earning a shake of the head from Fuyuhiko.

“That isn’t how that works, dumbasses! If no one saw you leave, then you don’t have an alibi!” Fuyuhiko shouted towards the two. 

“Well, what about you, baby gangsta?” Akane pondered, her finger rubbing around her ear. 

“I have an alibi. I left with Peko.” 

Peko nodded. “It’s true. We left after hearing the announcement.” 

They all took their turns, stating when and who they left with, with everyone gathering alibis, proving their innocence. 

“It seems that proved to be a waste of time. We are back to where we started.” Byakuya sighed loudly, pushing his glasses on his round face up the bridge of his nose. 

“Hey! Ugly bear! Is there really a killer among us?” Hiyoko shouted at Monokuma, who gasped in hurt and surprise, slamming a paw to where his heart could be. 

“U-u-ugly bear?! Why, there isn’t an ugly fur on my body!” 

“Answer the question, you fiend!” Gundham’s dark voice boomed, earning a harsh flinch from Monokuma. 

“Of _course_ there is!” 

“But ain’t nobody as killer as me! I could kill lil Shiro’ over here with one look!” Kurokuma suddenly shouted, sharp teeth baring as they glinted with the light. 

“Who said _you_ could speak?! Quiet!” Monokuma snapped, and just like that, Kurokuma was silent. 

“What the hell…?” Kazuichi muttered. 

“Ignore them. We need to stay focused.” Hajime sighed, running a hand through his brown hair. 

“U-um…” Mikan’s nimble voice sounded, quickly being buried under a torrent of voices.

“Well, where should we start? I’m getting hungry over here…” Akane spoke, rubbing her stomach. 

“Perhaps we should talk about the placement of blood?” Peko suggested. “Are we sure it occurred in the First Class Lounge?” 

“Abso-positive-lutely! The Handbook _never_ lies!” Monokuma happily cheered. 

“U-uh...Um…” 

“There are not very many clues, are there?” Sonia spoke, her face falling with a disappointed smile. 

“Don’t get discouraged, Miss Sonia! We’ll figure it out!” Kazuichi hyped Sonia up. 

“We’re seriously getting nowhere… Is there something else we can talk about?” Mahiru sighed. 

“E-excuse me…” 

(name) pondered her thoughts. “Maybe we should start at the beginning?” 

“The beginning? Like before Ibuki was murdered?” Nagito tried to include.

“Excuse me!” Mikan’s sharp voice suddenly cut in, earning everyone’s attention. 

“Huh? Why the hell are you yelling?!” Hiyoko shouted back, causing Mikan to squeak out a torrent of apologies, almost seeming to shrink down in size. 

“What is it, Mikan?” Peko asked, as Mikan, who was visibly shaking, stuttered. 

“M-maybe...we could...t-talk about… how she died.” 

“Huh? We already did. She was stabbed.” Fuyuhiko waved his hand.

“Such a gruesome way to end a life…” Gundham muttered. 

“B-but… that’s not...really how she died.” Mikan corrected. (name) saw Hajime pulled out his Handbook, tapping on the screen before his eyes grew. 

“That’s right! It was blunt force trauma!” 

“T-to the back… of the head…” Mikan nodded.

“I guess that rules out fatso Teruteru!” Akane grinned, as he gaped. 

“You _still_ thought it was me?!” 

“T-there was a rectangular indent to the back of Ibuki’s head...And it was wide…” 

“But if it was blunt force trauma, where was the weapon? All we found was a knife.” Chiaki inquired. 

“Maybe...the killer got rid of it?” (name) implied.

“But they didn’t get rid of the knife, so why bother with the murder weapon?” Mahiru questioned. 

“Maybe they _needed_ to get rid of it.” Nagito indicated, earning eyes of attention. 

“What do you mean?” Gundham challenged, as Nagito flinched slightly, letting out an airy chuckle as he wagged his hands in front of him. 

“Oh! Don’t mind someone as useless as me! Just thinking out loud.” 

“No...you might be right. They had to get rid of it.” Chiaki nodded. 

“I don’t get it…” Nekomaru muttered, rubbing the back of his head with strained eyes. 

“Yeah! What’re ya talking about?!” Akane wondered, leaning forward in her small podium. 

“Maybe...it was too incriminating.” (name) pondered out loud, catching the eyes of the room. “Like...if we saw it...it’d be easy to point out the killer.” 

“But we haven’t seen it! So now we’re back to where we started.” Mahiru groaned, scratching her red hair in annoyance. 

“Are we really at the beginning again?” Hiyoko whined, tears building in her eyes. 

“Is it possible that we have seen the murder weapon? But we are not aware of it yet?” Sonia sought an answer, as (name) pursued her lips in doubt. Thinking hard, scanning the crime scene in her mind, she couldn’t think of anything that resembled something that Mikan suggested. 

“Ah man! I can’t think right! I need to eat!” Akane whined, gripping her stomach dramatically. 

A light flashed in (name)’s head. Her eyes grew wide when she realized something. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a chunk of the black plastic that was residing in her pocket. 

“I completely forgot! Look at this!” (name) nudged the plastic forward. 

Somewhere in the room, a heart seized. (name) felt it. 

“Little one, what is that in your hand? Perhaps the shells of destruction?” Gundham pondered, earning Fuyuhiko’s wide eyes.

“Hey, that’s what Akane was trying to eat earlier!” Fuyuhiko recognized as (name) nodded. 

“Maybe this is an indicator of the murder weapon?” (name) suggested. 

“Those little pieces of plastic? Isn’t that a little small?” Mahiru doubted, as (name) gave a half shrug. 

“It was probably apart of the murder weapon.” Hajime clarified, earning an eager nod from (name). 

“But...that’s not rectangular at all!” Hiyoko gasped. 

“Weren’t you listening? It’s apart of the murder weapon.” Nagito sighed lightly, a still smile laced on his face. “Look, there’s even blood on it.” 

“But how are we gonna figure out what it is? Based on the blood? There’s no way!” Kazuichi doubted, pulling his beanie down with a nervous habit. 

The room fell silent, pondering thoughts. 

“Based on blood…” Hajime muttered. “Maybe we can… Hey, Nekomaru.” He started, earning the attention of the Ultimate Team Manager. 

“Hm? What’s up?” His gruff voice rumbled. 

“You remember the blood we looked at?” 

(name)’s eyes grew. “Oh yeah! Do you remember what the blood looked like?” 

Nekomaru grinned. “Sure do!” He boomed happily, a loud laugh following his proudness. Reaching into the pocket of his black coat, he pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. Opening it proudly, there was a poorly drawn adaptation of the blood stain—although it mostly captured the round pool until it was cut off by a thick gap, smearing slightly. 

“Eww! This paper has stains on it!” Hiyoko screamed, wiping her hands off on her kimono in disgust. 

“Sorry! My fingers get real sweaty when I get too excited!” Nekomaru boomed with another laugh. 

“This is sort of hard to understand…” Sonia gave a small flimsy smile, as Hajime scratched his head sheepishly. 

“Sorry...it would’ve been better to just get a picture of it, but we weren’t able to.” 

(name) froze. Her fingers twitched. Her heart was pounding with anxiety, echoing loudly in her ears. She placed a hand on her heart, rubbing it as she tried to calm herself down, but when she realized that the pounding heart was not hers, she froze. She was beginning to think that it was a natural reaction collected from everyone in the room, yet it was much too strong. Much too personal. 

Her eyes stealthily searched the room. She had to find the source. 

“I don’t get how this shitty paper is gonna lead us to the murder weapon.” Fuyuhiko groaned, eyebrows furrowing downward in annoyance. 

“Ah! This shape in the blood...I think it matches the indent wound!” Mikan squeaked.

“Are you sure?! If you’re wrong, I’ll gut you like a pig!” Hiyoko threatened, earning another squeak from Mikan.

“I-I’m pretty s-sure! Please don’t gut meeee!” 

“Enough. Stay focused.” Byakuya commanded. “If we can figure out what exactly the murder weapon is, it will point us to the killer.” 

A chuckle sounded beside (name). “Come on. It’s practically right in front of you.” Nagito giggled mischievously, a nimble hand hiding his twisted grin. 

“Huh? The fuck are you talking about?” Fuyuhiko asked, as Nagito gave a small shake of his head, that puffy white hair swaying as he moved. 

“The murder weapon. You’ve all seen it before.” 

“Nagito! What are you talking about?” Hajime shouted.

“Yeah! If you know who did it, then just say it!” Akane agreed, clenching her fists. 

“It’s not good to hide things like this!” Mahiru sounded, gripping the rim of her small podium. (name)’s eyes locked on to hers. 

“I can’t say it! It has to be one of you amazing Symbols of Hope!” Nagito cheered, eyes twisting excitedly. His expression fell when he paused, only for a small smile to grace his features again. “Well, to be completely fair, I guess it hasn’t been shown yet. Right, (name)?” His grey-blues locking with her (eye color), and that was when it all clicked. 

“(name)?” Fuyuhiko muttered quietly, as the room’s eyes fell to her. 

Of course. Why had it taken her so long to realize? 

Staring at the chunks of black plastic, her heart dimmered. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the flimsy smooth rectangle. Rubbing her thumb on it, staring into the small holes that framed it. She knew it was familiar, but now finally realized what it was. 

“How did you know, Nagito?” Her voice came out low, as Nagito simply smiled at her. 

“I saw you pick it up. I’d seen it earlier, but wanted it to be shown by a true Symbol of Hope. How lucky that it could be you!” 

“See what?” Hajime questioned, eyeing Nagito and (name). 

(name) sighed, holding it up for everyone to see. She felt the equivalent of a heart drop. Her eyes darted to the killer. 

“Mahiru. Do you know what this is?” 

It was fast. For only a second, Mahiru’s eyes grew wide not in confusion, but a knowingly gaze that only (name) could place, which completely gave herself away.

“...No. What is it?” 

“It’s a piece of film. Isn’t it?” Chiaki answered, yawning. (name) nodded. 

“Film? Where did you find such a thing, little one?” Gundham questioned (name).

“I found it near the doorway to our rooms.”

“Now, I’m curious as to how you didn’t know this was, seeing as you _are_ the Ultimate Photographer. I’m sure even a toddler could figure out where this came from.” Nagito sneered, eyeing Mahiru with malice. (name) watched as her jaw clenched slightly. 

“I-I’m just flustered, okay! _Sorry_ if that’s so hard to believe!” Mahiru retaliated.

“That _is_ pretty hard to believe. I mean, you should’ve been able to tell what it was just by touching it. Look—it even has the holes on it.” Hajime insisted, as Mahiru twisted her lips shut.

“Wait...I don’t get it… what does the film have to do with murder weapon?” Kazuichi questioned, sighing. 

“It’s a piece of film. For cameras.” (name) answered, her expression turning serious. 

The room took a moment before it clicked. 

“Cameras?!” Teruteru shouted.

“Wait wait wait… are you saying…” Fuyuhiko started, earning a huff from Byakuya.

“Yes. A camera is a very likely murder weapon.” 

“B-but… the only one has a camera… is…” Hiyoko muttered, and slowly the room turned to Mahiru.

“No way...it was you?” Akane gaped. 

“Wait! It wasn’t me! I was set up!” Mahiru quickly shouted, trying to clear her name. 

“Can you prove that?” Chiaki replied quickly, earning a bewildered look from Mahiru. 

“W-what?” She muttered, as Chiaki sighed tiredly.

“I said can you prove that? If it wasn’t you, then prove it.”

“There’s no way I could kill someone with a camera! That much force would break it!” Mahiru spoke desperately, earning a frown from (name).

“It wouldn’t entirely be _impossible._ ” (name) quickly chimed in, causing Mahiru to flinch slightly. 

“A-a camera’s edges… would match well with the indent on Ibuki’s head.” Mikan clarified. 

“No! There’s no way! It has to be something else!” Mahiru nodded, more so to herself. 

“What else would it be?” Byakuya sounded, as Mahiru’s eyebrows turned upward in fright, gripping the podium tightly. 

“I-I don’t know!” 

“It wasn’t Mahiru! After Monokuma’s announcement, Mahiru helped me change out of my kimono! She was with me! She isn’t the one who killed Ibuki!” Hiyoko squealed, eyes beading up with frustrated tears. 

“But that was a whole hour before Ibuki was killed. Were you with her until midnight?” Byakuka interrogated, causing Hiyoko to flinch when her mouth opened before closing. 

“...N-no…” 

“Then your argument is irrelevant. Please stay quiet.” Byakuya scoffed, crossing his arms in annoyance. 

“But that goes for everyone! Everyone says they were in their rooms, but how do we know if someone’s lying?” Mahiru inserted.

“It’s true. None of us have alibis.” Sonia sighed, with the room growing in silence. 

“Then… to clear suspicion…” (name) started, flicking her eyes up to Mahiru. “Show us your camera.” 

She seemed to almost visibly pale. “W-what?” 

“Show us your camera.” Hajime cut in, a dark expression shooting to Mahiru. 

Mahiru froze. (name) did not fail to see her body go rigid.

“It’s just how Chiaki said. The killer had to get rid of the weapon. Is that why you don’t have your camera, Mahiru?” Nagito grinned darkly, eyes growing wide in crazy excitement.

“N-no! It’s just—” 

“Then what’s the problem? Show us the damn camera already!” Akane growled.

“Yeah! Hurry and show us!” Kazuichi added.

“Please… To prove your innocence… please, show us.” Sonia pleaded. 

“I…” Mahiru muttered, her red hair hiding her eyes. 

“Speak up! If you have nothing to hide, then let’s see it!” Nekomaru boomed.

“Failing to show us the camera is only proving your guilt, you know?” Peko reminded, arms crossed. 

“Come on, dammit! Stop fucking around!” Fuyuhiko gritted his teeth, slamming his fist against his podium. 

“Please, Mahiru.” Chiaki spoke sadly.

“You are only deepening your spot in the depths of Hell.” Gundham roared, four hamsters perched on his character.

“C-come on! One little peek and it’ll be okay! ...Right?” Teruteru suggested flimsy, sweat beading along his face.

“Hmph. It seems she has chosen silence.” Byakuya huffed, eyes closing. 

“I… can’t.” Mahiru finally spoke, and (name) felt a release escape her. 

“Because… it’s broken, right? These pieces...are from your camera, aren’t they?” (name) spoke, as Mahiru slowly nodded. 

“I… tried to pick up all the pieces, even the glass, but…” 

“You really _did_ kill Ibuki, didn’t you?” Hajime questioned, before Mahiru’s hands flung to her hair, as she shook her head frantically, so desperately, eyes swirling in a chaotic void.

“N-no! It...It was Monokuma!” 

“Monokuma?” Chiaki muttered.

(name) leaned forward, hands now wrapped around the small ledge of her podium. Mahiru was fidgeting, eyes darting in every direction, sweat building as her breath was coming out raggard and choppy, failing to hold a rhythmic balance to it.

“What did he do, Mahiru? What did he do to you?” (name) said with a serious expression, with an enchanting voice that she had worked on and developed for many years. 

“He—he's the one who-!” 

“What did he do, Mahiru? Tell us exactly what he did.” 

“He gave me the Injection X!” With those words, Mahiru busted into tears. (name) got exactly what she wanted. The room went silent. 

“M-Mahiru… You killed Ibuki?” Hiyoko said quietly, as if almost refusing to believe it. 

“I couldn't control myself okay! I couldn't stop! I didn't want to do it! But I just… _couldn't_ stop myself!” 

“You saying that you didn't have control of yourself..? Are you shitting me?!” Fuyuhiko said, while turning pale. 

“It completely turned off my emotions or feelings. It was like, I was this empty shell. I wanted to stop, but I couldn't. Even after I hit her, all I could see was the knife. I just… kept stabbing… and stabbing… and it wouldn’t stop...” Mahiru then turned towards (name), tears pouring out of her eyes. 

“I’m sorry.” Her voice was weak, almost as a hushed whisper. “I’m sorry.” 

(name) just stared at her, feeling Mahiru’s gut wrenching guilt weigh down her body, and (name) too was battling off tears. 

“Me too.” (name) answered, and with a rush of tears spilling out of Mahiru’s eyes, she smiled just a bit. 

“Well then! Looks like you know who it is! Please pull the lever in front of you and cast your votes. Will you make the right choice, or the _dreadfully wrong one?_ ” Monokuma shouted in excitement, cackling laughter haunting the room. 

Everyone then looked down and pulled the lever and casted their vote. 

“Ding ding ding! You got it! The one who killed Ibuki Miodi was the _Ultimate Photographer, Mahiro Kozumi!”_

“N-no... Mahiru…” Hiyoko muttered, tears spilling out of her eyes. 

“I’m sorry, Hiyoko. I won't be able to help you tie your kimono anymore.” She said, while smiling with tears coming out of her eyes. 

“M-Mahiru… Please don't go…” The dancer pleaded, although she knew what was going to happen. 

“Woohoo! It's time for the long awaited _Punishment Time!!_ ” Monokuma blared, drool dripping out of his mouth.

“Make sure to take care of yourself. Always keep clean, and make sure you keep your room clean.” 

“Let's give it everything we got! Itttttt’ssss PUNISHMENT TIME!” 

“Mahiru! No! Don't go!” Hiyoko cried as Mahiru turned around, walking towards Monokuma. Hiyoko tried to run towards her but Sonia grabbed her and held her back. 

As Mahiru disappeared past a door, a giant monitor appeared in front of them. On the screen was Mahiru, tied up with rope, as beads of sweat popped up on her face. She was standing just before an open door of the airplane, wind causing her hair to whip across her face. Then there was Monokuma, his red glinted brightly as his paws grew into large claws, swiping at Mahiru’s back, blood spraying through the air. Mahiru’s eyes grew wide and skin pale as she screamed in pain. She buckled forward, straight out of the airplane’s large door, falling from the sky. 

As she was falling, 3 bright lights flashed through the clouds, and three jet planes came so fast, (name) almost didn't see them. They came so fast, and collided into Mahiru, causing a huge explosion, filling the sky with a dark smoke. The camera switched, and the last thing anyone could see was Monokuma, laughing eerily before the monitor went black.

“S-shit…! What the fuck is this happening..?!” Fuyuhiko yelled out. 

“M-Mahiruuuu!” Hiyoko then burst out into tears, wailing and bailing. Sonia hugged Hiyoko tightly, tears spilling down her own face as well. 

That same feeling, that feeling that they had known too well crept into their hearts, mixed with sadness and confusion. It was the feeling that kept you up at night and made you feel hollow and empty. And right now, it was the only thing that (name) was feeling. 

_That feeling of despair._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello everyone and thank so much for reading! our first killer, mahiru ): bet you weren't expecting that, huh? 
> 
> to bring in some insight, (name) is the Ultimate Mentalist. knowing that she has a series of skills that come with the title. for one, she is extremely gifted in body language--she can see the slightest shift, quiver, jerk of anyone's body, and uses that (in this case) as a advantage. She can always tell when someone is lying. 
> 
> one thing that she can also detect emotions in everyone, no matter how hard they can try to hide it. a downside to this is that when she is surrounded with a bunch of people, she can feel a mixed variation of what others are feeling, weighing her down and putting a lot of strain on her body and mind. it is something that she is still working with, but often can not control the intense feeling it brings. 
> 
> she is a master manipulator (something she does not like about herself, and tries her best not to use this skill around the people she cares about), great at hypnosis, and with studying others, she can almost predict what someone is thinking. 
> 
> that's just a quick description of a few of her skills, the ones that will be most present in this story! anyway, thank you so much for reading! i did my best to have everything incorporate and flow together nicely, so i do apologize if anything comes out a bit choppier than intended. 
> 
> anyway, thank you so much for reading, and i will see you next time! 
> 
> -me


	6. 05

After the death of their dear friends Mahiru and Ibuki, the group returned to their rooms with a heavy heart and sadness. Even though (name) was exhausted, it felt like she couldn’t fall asleep at all. The darkness frightened her for reasons she could not explain, so she got up from her bed and turned on all the lights. She tried to pick up a book, an accommodation of the room but then thoughts of Mahiru dying clung to her skull. She quickly got frustrated and started rubbing her head vigorously. But soon enough, she left her room to keep her occupied. She headed to the Main Lounge and sat down on the couch. She simply began looking around the room until she heard a voice. 

“Oh oh oh! Looks like Sweet (name) couldn’t sleep! Would you like me to read you a beary good story?~” 

She turned her head in front of her and saw the one person that she absolutely did not want to see. 

“It’s me! Monokuma!” He cheered happily. She glared at the bear, with a deadpan expression. 

“What?” Although her intent was of malice, it came off tired and weak. 

“Aw! Is our favorite Mentalist too tired to yell? How cute! You know, we could put on a show together! Let’s call it the Mono-Mentalist Bonanza!” His voice rose with excitement, an ominous air flowed around him. 

“Not interested. Leave me alone.” (name) retorted, looking away at anything but him. Monokuma huffed in anger. 

“Fine then!” Out of nowhere, he pulled out a bunch of equipment, including vases and flowers, with a beautiful white tablecloth, and a box of glasses and silverware. “You are going to set the table for breakfast! Have it done before the sun rises or I’ll really punish you!” 

“But it’s like 2 AM.” 

“Just do it!” He then began muttering something about being ungrateful and disappeared through the floor. (name) looked down at all the silverware and equipment Monokuma gave her, and sighed. 

“I guess I better get to work.” 

—

Hajime was the first to enter the dining hall, also not being able to sleep, like everyone else. He walked in with heavy bags under his eyes, and rubbed his tired eyes. He walked in to see the table beautifully decorated, white table sheets with decoration, red roses in a vase, the correct silverware placed symmetrically. 

He then looked to see a beautiful girl, face down on the table still holding a fork. He rubbed his eyes, assuming he was hallucinating, and looked again to see (name).

“(name)?!” He rushed over to the girl, rubbing her back vigorously trying to get her to wake up. “(name)?! Are you okay?!” He kept yelling, until the girl shifted. He stopped abruptly, wide eyes. 

“Mmm… Hajime… Shh.” She mumbled to herself. Hajime felt a faint blush creeping up to his face as she sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes in a cute way. 

“What time is it?” (name) asked with a yawn, her eyes watering up quickly. 

“It’s almost time for the morning bell. Did you sleep here all night?” The girl nodded, as she began to explain. “I couldn’t sleep after what happened, so I came to the lounge and Monokuma gave me the job of setting the table.” She gestured towards the beautifully lit table. 

“Oh, I see. So you did all this?” (name) puffed out her cheeks and nodded with confidence. 

“It looks good, right? I’m pretty proud of it too!” She huffed out her chest with her fist clenched together and on her sides. Hajime chuckled at the pose. 

“Well, I better go and freshen up before breakfast. Thanks for waking me up Hajime!” She then started towards the door. She stopped when she heard Hajime call out for her.

“Hey, uh, (name)?” 

“Hmm?” 

“Next time, if you uh—have trouble sleeping. You can come talk to me.” He shifted his gaze down towards the floor, nervously. (name) smiled as she cocked her head towards him. 

“Thanks, Hajime. I’ll definitely take you up on that.” She gave him a wink before walking out of the door. 

He smiled after the girl, and as soon as he turned around, he saw Teruteru wearing a chef’s hat and on his paws oven mitts. 

“Hajime! Will you help me with breakfast?” 

**—**

(name) returned about half an hour later, cleaned up and wearing new clothes from yesterday. The aroma of bacon had flowed all around the airplane, causing her mouth to water and her stomach to growl. She trudged towards the dining hall and when she got there she was greeted by everyone stuffing their faces. 

“Hey (name)!” Teruteru yelled out while swallowing his food in his mouth and setting his fork down. Before she could see him move, he was already standing next to her, placing a hand along her lower back and with his other he held her hand. 

“Oh! Good morning, Teru.” She said nervously as she tried to discreetly let go of his hand, but unfortunately he had an iron grip. 

“Come, sit sit! I'll have a plate prepared for you, mademoiselle.” He added the last part with a wink and deepened voice. Before (name) could speak, she was already placed in a chair with a plate of delicious food steaming up to her nose. It had colors of every kind, and the smell was so amazing she would have drooled. 

“W-wow! This looks really good Teru.” 

“Go ahead. Take a biiiig bite.” He whispered in her ear, a hint of lust coating his voice. She did as he said, and as soon as the fork hit her tongue, she swooned. It was so delicious, the flavors just melted in her mouth, a delightful mix of sweet and sour, salty and spicy. It almost made her want to stand up and dance. 

A bright red blush crept up to her face as she took her first bite, and soon found herself gobbling up the rest. She didn't realize that almost everyone was watching her, and they smiled as they watched the Mentalist eat so happily. 

  


**FREE TIME**

After the amazing breakfast, (name) returned to her room to relax. Although, something kept bugging her. She felt as if there was something she had to do, so she got up and walked out of the door and headed to Hiyoko’s room. 

She rang the doorbell, and hoped the dancer would come out. Hiyoko did, but not the way (name) would like her to. She cracked the door open slightly, so she could only see her one eye. 

“Uh, hey Hiyoko, I was wondering if-”

“No.” Well, (name) definitely wasn't expecting that. 

“I was hoping you'd come with me to help clean out Mahiru’s room.” Hiyoko paused for a second, and spoke up again. 

“You're the one who got Mahiru killed! You, dumb, stupid pig face!” 

(name) did her best to hold in the shock of being called such a thing, taking in a large breath. 

“Look Hiyoko, we had to do something. We weren't gonna sit back and get killed.” Hiyoko’s eyes then contorted to sadness. (name) held out her hand, and smiled brightly at her.

“Come on Hiyoko. I'm sure Mahiru would like it if you got some of her stuff.” Beads of tears stung Hiyoko’s eyes, and she quickly wiped them away as she grabbed (name)’s hand. 

The broken camera was the first thing that (name) spotted when they entered the room. The bottom of it was caked in dried blood, along with chucks of the exterior missing, along with the glass shattered. (name) grimaced, yet she hid the camera in one of Mahiru’s drawers, not wanting Hiyoko to see. 

They had spent a couple of hours in Mahiru’s room, picking up pictures, and a couple of photo albums. Hiyoko was having trouble deciding what was right for her to have. (name) then looked under Mahiru’s bed, and found a book. It turned out to be a photo album. When she opened, she saw it was pictures of them. From Hajime to (name), a bunch of pictures of them smiling and happy. It looked like they were from the island. 

“Hey Hiyoko, what about this?” The dancer stood up and brushed off her kimono, before walking over and grabbing the album. 

“It's pictures of us. Of everyone. We are look so happy.” Hiyoko started smiling looking at the pictures, and more tears started to bead up in her eyes. 

“I want this one.” (name) smiled at her. It was good to see Hiyoko back to her normal self. 

“Thank you, Big Sis (name).” She said as (name) was tackled into a hug. (name) hugged back, ruffling her hair. 

“No problem.” 

**—**

(name) returned to her room after cleaning up with Hiyoko. She looked at the clock and saw that she had a couple more hours before the nighttime bell, so she went out to the lounge. The first person she saw was Kazuichi, working on a little robot with some of his tools. 

“Hi Kazuichi!” The Mechanic yelped and jumped, while flinging his tool across the room in fright, turning pale. 

“Ah! Oh, Miss (name)! You scared me!” She giggled at his actions, and walked over and picked up his tool and handed it back to him. 

“Heh, sorry. I guess you were really focused, huh?” 

“Mmhm.” He hummed. She then sat down on the couch next to him, and the fact that she was so close made him blush. 

“So what are you making? It looks cool so far!” She grinned at him, and his blush intensed.

“Well, uh, it's a robot! I haven't figured out exactly what he should do yet, but maybe a back massager?” 

“Oh, that sounds nice. Do you make things like this all the time?” (name) asked with curiosity. 

“Whenever I get stressed, making little things like this calms me down. My old man used to run a bike shop, so I was always around tools and mechanics. Although no one would buy bikes, we'd always have people come in who needed help fixing their bikes or filling up the tires. So I got plenty of practice.” 

“Wow. Did you ever break anything or mess up on anything?”

“I mess up for sure. One time, I attached an engine to a machine that draws lines on a soccer field, but it escaped through the front school entrance at full speed and didn't stop.” Kazuichi chuckled at the memory, scratching the back of his neck. (name) was too laughing.

“Are you serious? That’s hilarious!” 

“Yeah, I got in big trouble for that one.” Kazuichi mused, thinking back on the memory. The two conversed, talking about the times they had gotten into trouble for their talent. They didn’t realize how much time had passed until the nighttime announcement sounded.

“Well, I guess it's time for bed.” (name) said still smiling, as she looked at the monitor. 

“Yeah, guess so.” He replied. She stood and brushed off her clothes and began for the door. 

“Well, this was fun, Kazuichi! When we got off this plane, why don’t we rebuild your dad’s shop? I’ll help!” 

His eyes grew with suggestion. He smiled with a telling mix of sadness and happiness. “Yeah. I’m sure he’d like that.” 

(name) smiled brightly, nodding as she gave him a goodbye and walked off. 

“Heh, that girl.” Kazuichi muttered, feeling a strange flip in his stomach. 

(name) then prepared for bed, brushing her teeth and taking a quick shower before changing into more comfortable clothes and heading to bed. She allowed a tired sigh to escape her, as she turned, clutching her pillow as her eyes fluttered shut.

—

She awoke in darkness. Not completely sure why, but she was wide awake. (name) awoke sweaty, her heart feeling heavy. Glancing to the small alarm clock, she read that it was almost three in the morning. 

She sat up in the darkness, swiping a hand across her forehead to wipe away some of the dampness before she quickly switched on the lamp near her bed. She stood from the bed, wearing her oversized t-shirt that drifted to her mid-thigh. Slipping out of her door, walking down the hallway until she saw the small pixelated icon of Hajime, before ringing the doorbell.

A couple short moments passed before she heard rushed footsteps. The door opened, a silent creak as her eyes met his. His eyes were a bit hazy, perhaps from sleep. He was shirtless, toned front supporting abs, wearing shorts as he blinked, then again, rubbing his eyes. 

“I’m sorry, I woke you, didn’t I?” (name) wrapped her arms around herself, taking a step back, as Hajime shook his head. 

“No!” His rough and tired voice said otherwise. “No, come in.” He opened the door, wider, gesturing her in. (name) smiled, entering his room. It was almost exactly like hers, yet Hajime’s room was more empty. Her room was decorated with books of psychology, neurological aspects of the brain, along with zodiac books and other mystical and spiritual books. 

“I...couldn’t sleep. So I thought I’d take you up on your offer.” 

Hajime smiled, sitting on the bed as it creaked. (name) joined him, sitting just on the edge of the bed as she hugged herself. 

“What’s keeping you up?” He asked, leaning back with his arms behind him, holding him up and (name) smiled, eyes darting to the floor. 

“The darkness. Every night when it’s time to go to sleep, I just get really anxious.” 

“Have you tried sleeping with the light on?” Hajime joked, earning a small chuckle from (name) as she lightly pushed him. 

“I don’t know—it’s like...if I go to sleep, then I won’t be able to move.” 

“That happens when we all sleep, (name).” Hajime replied, earning another bitter smile from (name). 

“I know.” She chuckled. “But for me, it’s like I’m just...paralyzed. Like I have absolutely no control over myself until someone says that I can move.” 

“But you do have control.” Hajime answered, voice gentle. “That’s how we made it out of that world. We regained control.” 

“So why are we here?” (name)’s eyebrows turned downward, voice dropping into sadness. “I mean, this is real, right? We’re not in a virtual world?” 

“Do you think it is?” 

She wasn’t sure. Searching into Hajime’s eyes, almost as if she was looking for the answer. Quickly, she scanned over his figure. His hair was lighter, once a neutral brown now a warm brown, with a slight green hue. However, it was his eyes that drew her in. (name) was surprised she hadn’t noticed. Of course, it wasn't like she _hadn't_ noticed, but more like she finally understood. They were red. A duller red, with the oddest green hue just glazing on top, as if the two colors were fighting for the front seat. They almost seemed to glow, yet she could see the smallest glint of something brighter when she looked deeper. Of something hopeful. 

Reaching up, her hand brushed against his hair—the hair tickling the sides of her fingers. Something was familiar about the sensation, yet it wasn’t exact. There was someone who resembled Hajime, someone she was close to, yet it made her heart ache when she couldn’t place it. 

“Ultimate Hope.” She greeted, earning a gentle smile from Hajime, who reached up, placing his warm hand on top of hers, holding it there for a moment. “What a talent.” 

“I’m glad to have it.” 

(name) lowered her hand, yet Hajime still held on to it, his fingers holding onto her fingers. 

“I think it’s okay to be afraid of the dark. I think it’s okay to not feel in control. I think it helps you remember that it isn’t all just a dream.” He spoke, as (name) nodded. 

“Yeah.” She released a heavy sigh, feeling a wave of anxiety leave her body. Her smile grew. 

“You’re too good at this, Hajime. Maybe you really should be the Ultimate Counselor.” She chuckled, as Hajime chuckled as well, releasing her hand. 

“Fuyuhiko said the same thing, you know.” 

“Well, he was right. I’m feeling a lot better now.” (name) nodded, before a yawn escaped her. 

“You should get to bed. Sleep while you can.” Hajime responded to her yawn, as she nodded again and stood, hugging herself as she walked towards the door. Hajime led her out, and she turned again when she reached the hallway. 

“I had a dream, before I woke up. I don’t remember what it was, or what happened, but I know I had a dream.” (name) spoke, staring into Hajime’s bright eyes. “So, yeah, I think this is real. And that makes it even worse.” 

“How do you know it’s real?” He asked, and her bitter smile returned. 

“I never used to dream in that world.” She smiled tiredly. “Goodnight, Hajime.”


	7. 06

(name) woke up to Monokuma’s announcement, with the sun peeking through her window. She could feel the plane's vibration.. She was feeling pretty good, so far. She could only hope that that feeling would stay that way for a while. 

She got up and did her daily morning routine, showering, changing clothes, brushing her teeth, etc. She walked out, with a smile on her face as she was ready to greet the day. As she walked down the hallway, she heard noise. Whether it was a squeak or a squeal, she didn't know. She then got nervous, and jumped when she heard the squeak again. 

She then narrowed it down to it being hidden in between a small space of the couch and a potted plant. It was dark in that corner too, so she couldn't see if there was anything hidden there or not. She slowly reached her hand towards the tiny space, and as soon as her fingers hit the darkness, she felt a sharp sting of pain. 

“Ow!” Upon looking at her finger, she saw two small bite marks, which were starting to bleed. She then grabbed her e-Handbook from her pocket and shined the light towards the corner. 

She saw a small animal, shivering. Indeed, it was another of Gundham’s hamsters—Jum-P—a small hamster with a grey coat and white underbelly. She smiled. 

“Come on.” She cooed. “Come on, Jum-P, I won’t hurt you.” 

Jum-P squeaked, before moving forward, jumping into (name)’s extended hand. He crawled all the way up to her shoulder, gripping onto a small chunk of her hair as he sniffed and determined her shoulder was safe. With that, they headed to the dining hall. 

Once they got there, everyone was there eating and talking amongst themselves. 

“Gundham, look who I found.” Everyone then looked at (name), and then the creature that was sitting on her shoulder. Jum-P darted down her arm, dashing across the table and up to Gundham’s scarf.

“A-ah! You have saved me, once again, little one. I am eternally in your debt.” Gundham stood and bowed, as (name) waved him off, sitting in the chair next to him. 

“Don’t worry! I’m glad to help.” She answered with a smile, as the four hamsters crawled out of Gundham’s scarf, dashing to the table filled with food. 

“Hey hey hey! Get those animals off the table! They’ll leave fur all over the food!” Kazuichi complained, earning a chuckle to escape (name), as the hamsters grabbed a share of food before Jum-P and Cham-P climbed onto (name), Jum-P on top of her head and Cham-P perched on her shoulder. 

(name) began nibbling on some fruit—more specifically grapes, popping them in her mouth as she listened to her friend’s conversations. 

“Hey hey hey! Have you been waiting for me?” An annoying voice echoed through the room, causing everyone to groan. 

“It’s me, Monokuma!” (name) sighed harshly, turning behind her to see Monokuma.

“And It’s me! Kurokuma! But y’all already know who I am! I mean how could you forget? I’m the guy who talks all the timebuteventhoughItalkitdoesn’tmean-” Kurokuma’s words started to mumble and jumbled together as he started talking faster. 

“Kurokuma! Shut up!” Monokuma yelled at the black bear. As if on command, Kurokuma completely stopped talking.

“Annnnnywaaay…! I just came by to tell that another floor of this plane has been revealed to you! Isn’t that nice of me? I think that’s pretty nice considered it's an all-you-can-kill, kill-or-be-killed, killing-killing-killing-all-around world!” 

“Yeah that's great except no one is going to be killing each other.” Hajime protested, a serious expression mixed within his eyes. 

“Ah ah, my dear sweet Hajime! That's not up to you to decide! Are you thinking straight? Or maybe that ahoge of yours is standing up too tall…?” 

“Shut up!” Hajime gripped his fists together.

“Oh yes! Before I forget, I have another riddle for youuu~!” Monokuma beamed, causing the student’s hearts to drop. 

“No, please no!” Hiyoko cried out, as she started tearing up remembering everything that happened to Mahiru. 

“Oh come on! These riddles are pretty exciting! Well,  _ for me at least. _ You guys ready?! _ ” _ He said excitedly, drool falling from his mouth. 

“Awwwwhhh right! Riddles! I love riddles! You know sometimes I rap about riddles. Like in my last mixtape, Iwastalkingaboutriddlesbuttheriddledidntmakeanysenseso-” Kurokuma suddenly shouted, all of it coming out in a quick blubber that was quickly cut off by Monokuma.

“Who said you could talk?” Monokuma’s voice dropped an octave, as he glared intensely at Kurokuma. 

“You said, ‘you guys ready?’. Which meant that included me too!” To the students' surprise, Monokuma turned quickly and punched Kurokuma right in the jaw, while yelling the words ‘Silencing Punch’ which sent him flying. He landed all the way across the room and was dead silent.

Monokuma wiped his paws together as if dusting off his hands, and turned back to the group of students who stared at him with fear and surprise. 

“Alrighty! Let's get this party started!  _ Riddle me this, riddle me that. I have billions of eyes, yet I live in darkness. I have millions of ears, yet only four lobes. I have no muscle, yet I rule two hemispheres. What am I?”  _

The room went quiet, as everyone began thinking. It was almost like they were used to this, and freaking out wouldn't make the situation better. 

“I have billions of eyes…” (name) heard Hajime mutter, as he began pacing back and forth. Nagito just looked into a general direction with a stern look in his eyes, with his hands under his chin as he began to ponder. 

“God dammit. These stupid riddles…” Fuyuhiko silently cursed to himself, as he had his hands on his waist and stomped around impatiently. Everyone had the same look on their faces, whether it was nervousness, or anger, or fear they all performed the same actions. 

“These don’t make any sense!” Kazuichi groaned, scratching his face. 

After a while, it didn't occur to (name) that she wasn't even thinking about the riddle, but she was watching everyone else’s actions, wondering what they were thinking about. 

_ I rule two hemispheres.  _ With that it clicked. How could she not figure it out? This was her speciality! Her talent! With a fierce gaze, she turned towards Monokuma and yelled out the answer. 

“It's the human brain!” Monokuma halted, as if he shut down. He then looked up to her, and his red eye glinted a fiercer red. 

“That is… huh? That's correct…” Everyone cheered as Monokuma’s tiny body slouched in disappointment. 

“Aw, that's no fair! How'd you know?” Monokuma squealed, stomping his little foot like a kid who didn't get his way. 

“I rule two hemispheres. You were talking about the left and right side of the brain.” (name) said with confidence. 

“As expected of the Ultimate Mentalist! Something that has to do with the brain would be easy for you to figure out, wouldn't it?” Nagito said loudly, his hands in the air and a huge smile on his face. (name) nodded towards him, with a proud smile on her face. Monokuma hung his head low, with his paws behind his back as he talked in a heavy tone.

“Well anyway, go ahead and check out the second floor, you bastards.” Before Monokuma could disappear, they were stopped by Byakuya.

“Wait. I have a question.”

“Hmm? What is your question, my humble student?” Monokuma suddenly perked up, his disappointed emotion gone as he began to act like a real teacher. 

“Will we find the cure to Injection X on the second floor?” Monokuma then turned around, his back facing the rest of the students. He raised his paw up, and turned so you could only see his red eye, which glinted in excitement.

“Find it? Nyohohoho! You've already found it!  _ It's closer than you think.” _

With that, he and Kurokuma disappeared into the floor, leaving the dining hall silent. 

“That stupid fucking bear..!” Fuyuhiko mumbled to himself as he gritted his teeth in anger. 

“It's close? What does he mean by that?” Hajime asked sternly.

“Well anyway. There's no point trying to figure it out right now. Let's go ahead and search the second floor so we can get out of here.” Peko stated calmly. 

“I agree. We should probably work in small groups too. We’ll cover more ground that way.” Chiaki stated, while lifting her hood up. 

“Ooh ooh! I call going with (name)!” Teruteru suggested rather enthusiastically. (name) furrowed her brows. 

“Hey man! What if I wanted to go with (name)!” Kazuichi yelled at Teruteru, which caused the two of them to start bickering. During the fighting, (name) managed to grab Hajime and ran for the stairs without the Mechanic and the Cook noticing. 

**—**

“Whew! I'm glad I escaped that!” (name) yelled out in relief, with a grin on her face. 

“This second floor looks different from the one downstairs, don't you think?” Hajime asked while looking around. He was right. The second floor was a different hue—now decorated by a deep purple carpeting and wallpapering than the first floor. The air felt a little different too, perhaps a bit heavier. 

“Yeah. The structure is completely opposite than from the first floor.” 

“Geez, how big is this plane?” (name) muttered, gazing around. 

They then proceeded to walk down the hallway. They took note of the different rooms. There was a lounge room, a pool, animal shelter, library, spa room that connected with the pool, and a couple of classrooms. 

“Hajime, look! There's a pool and an animal shelter!” (name) yelled excitedly while grabbing Hajime and dragging him around like a little kid. 

“Aren't you getting a little too excited for this?” He said while smiling sheepishly. 

“No way! Let's check out the animal shelter first!” As soon as they walked in, it was this totally different energy. A sad energy. There were animals of all kinds, monkeys, rats, mice, cats, dogs, all caged up. They started whimpering, as if begging Hajime and (name) to let them out. 

“Who would do this…? This is cruel. Maybe I should let them out…?” As (name) reached for a cage, Hajime stopped her. 

“You can't let them out! We don't know how or where they got here!” 

“But Hajime! Look at them! They don't belong here!” (name) tried pleading with him, but he wasn't budging. 

“We don't know what could happen if we let them out. For now, let's just wait.” Hajime said in a concerned tone. (name) reluctantly agreed. 

“Okay. If you say so.” And as quickly as that was over, she jumped back up in excitement.

“Ooh! Let's check out the pool now!” She once again grabbed Hajime and pulled him towards the pool. 

Once they got there, the air was clogged with steam. The pool was huge, and filled with the smell of chlorine.

“Wow! This pool is so big! Hajime! Let's go in for a dip!” 

“No. I don't think we should right now.” He said with a lopsided smile. 

“Aw, are you afraid of the water Hajime?” With a wag of her brows, she began mocking him. 

“No way! I just don't feel like swimming right now.” Hajime explained, expression growing bored while turning his gaze away from the (eye color) eyed girl. 

“Haha okay! We will definitely come in here some day, so be ready!” With that they walked out to explore the rest of the second floor. Unfortunately, they did not find anything that would help them escape from the aircraft, or any sign or signal that someone was coming for them or not. 

**—**

(name) and Hajime returned last, and looked to see everyone had been waiting for them. 

“(name)! Hajime! What took you so long? You weren't doing bad things, were you?” Kaizuchi yelled upon the twos arrival. 

“Calm down. We didn't find anything useful.” Hajime stated. 

“I see. So you two also didn't find anything useful as well.” Peko mumbled to herself. 

“We did find a room full of trapped animals though.” (name) said loudly, getting the attention of everyone in the room, especially a certain animal breeder. 

“What do you mean trapped? Like, ready-for-dinner-trapped?” Teruteru spoke agitatedly, a slight drool coming from his mouth. 

“No, like...caged.” (name) countered back at the short boy. Chiaki then spoke up. 

“Well, we obviously didn’t find anything useful. So if you bastards don’t mind, I’m going back into my room.” Fuyuhiko yelled as he turned and walked away. 

“Aw, you’re leaving already, baby gangsta?” (name)’s voice made Fuyuhiko’s body halt as his face flushed red. 

“W-what…?!” His face was mixed with embarrassment, fluster, and anger. It was strange how such different emotions all shared the same color. 

“Akane, you were right! He does get all weird!” (name) said as Akane started bursting out laughter, while giving (name) a big high five who was also laughing. 

“You two…” Fuyuhiko grilled through his teeth as he clenched his fists tightly in anger. 

“Hey hey, lighten up will ya? That was pretty funny!” Akane said as slight tears from laughter form on her eyes. Fuyuhiko let out a huff and turned and walked to his room, stomping almost like a little kid. 

After his exit, mostly everyone returned to their own business, whether it was continued in investigating, or headed to their rooms.

  
  


**FREE TIME** **  
  
**

(name) returned to her room to change into her swimsuit, because today she planned to go swimming with someone. She decided to invite Akane, since she was always willing to do things with others. 

She knocked on her door, with a big smile on her face, as the dark skinned girl opened the door and looked down at her (since Akane is taller than her).

“Hm? Whaddaya want?” Akane stuck her finger in her ear as she waited for (name)’s response. 

“Let's go swimming!” The Mentalist beamed as she held up a couple of towels. Akane stared at her for a bit before a grin popped up onto her face as well. 

“Alright! I've been wanting a swim for awhile!” She closed her door and walked out beside (name) who looked at her confused.

“But don't you want to change into a swimsuit Akane?” 

“Nah I'm good. I'm wearing my swimsuit right now!” She said with a huge grin, as she walked faster to the water. Looks like she really wanted to swim. 

They finally reached the pool, which was heated to a nice temperature. Akane didn’t waste any time by just jumping into the water. (name) had to convince her to take off her clothes so her clothes wouldn't get soaked. The two had a good time, just talking, swimming, and splashing each other. 

_ Looks like Akane had fun.  _ (name) thought, in a relaxed state as she saw Akane just floating in her water on her back, with her eyes closed. 

“Hey (name)...” She spoke suddenly, with the sound of water sloshing around them. 

“Hmm?” 

“Even though we're trapped, this place is kinda paradise. Well it is compared to my home.” 

(name) turned towards the girl and indicated to her that she was listening. With that, Akane went on. 

“My house was like a shack. It was so tiny there wasn't enough room for all of my 7 siblings.” Akane said with a grin on her face, as she chuckled at the memory. 

“I learned that if you get kicked around, beat up or cry and scream that there's no food or medicine, no one will help you. So don't be weak, got it?!” 

(name) was kind of shocked at the last part, but she nodded with a smile on her face as she promised she wouldn't be weak. 

“That just means you have to hit me if I start showing weakness, okay Akane?” 

Another huge toothy grin. “You got it!” 

The two got out of the pool, and dried themselves as they headed to their rooms. (name) went ahead and took a shower, to get all the chlorine off of her body and hair. When she got out and checked the time, she saw that there was still time to spend with someone. 

**—**

(name) spotted a bamboo casing, left in the lounge just as she was coming from the dorms. She walked towards it, immediately recognizing whose it was. She grabbed it—much lighter than she expected—before heading off in the direction of Peko’s room. 

She rang the doorbell, but got no response. So, she decided to search around. Not much to see on the first floor, only the kitchen and lounge so she headed upstairs. 

Peeking her head into the pool, lounge, and library, she failed to find Peko. Passing by one of the classrooms, she heard the wisp of wind just at the door of the one of classrooms, she slid the door open to see Peko. 

She was training—her eyes hazy in a determined manner as she swatted her hand and feet elegantly in her fighting style. (name) closed the door, and watched with content until Peko seemed to be finished. 

Her red eyes darted to (name)’s (eye color) ones, who smiled before gesturing out her bamboo sword casing. 

“I found your sword casing! I thought I would return it to you.” (name) started, as Peko walked over, gazing at it, not making any move to take it. 

“I don’t think it’s smart for me to carry such a powerful weapon.” Peko backed away from it, as (name)’s smile faltered with surprise. 

“Why’s that?” 

“I am not to be trusted.” 

(name)’s head tilted in confusion. “Hm? Of course you can be trusted!” 

Peko shook her head. “No. You are much safer when you are not around me.” 

(name)’s eyebrows furrowed, not understanding what she was getting at when it clicked in her head. A bitter smile grew on (name)’s face. “Because of the last Killing Game.” 

Peko nodded. 

“Peko, you were protecting Fuyuhiko. It was Monokuma’s fault—it’s always been Monokuma’s fault.” 

“But Monokuma is not the one who told me to kill her. I choose to do that.” 

“But you never would have if we didn’t get trapped in that world. And we would’ve never been there if we never met Junko.” (name) smiled. 

“That’s true. But how do you know I won’t be injected, and fail everyone all over again? Fail young master again?” 

“Because I believe in you! That no matter what happens, you’re strong enough to overcome anything! And once we get out of here, we’ll finally be free.” 

Peko’s eyes grew at (name)’s words. A small smile grew on her face. “You were always so positive in that world too. You remind me of Hajime. Perhaps the two of you are growing on each other.” 

(name) giggled. She gestured out the bamboo casing. “Here. This is a precious thing to you—I know it is.” 

Peko nodded, taking the casing and pulling it around her back. “Thank you, (name).” 

(name) nodded happily. She turned towards the door, before Peko stopped her. 

“(name), will you promise me something?” 

(name) turned. “What is it?” She asked in a kind voice. 

“If something does happen to me, promise me that you’ll take care of my young master. Only then, I will finally be free.” 

(name) searched her eyes—she was dead serious. (name) could still feel the guilt spilling from Peko’s body, along with her fondness of Fuyuhiko. Yet, (name) shook her head. 

“I believe in you, Peko. I don’t think I’ll need to promise you that.” (name) waved, leaving the classroom. 

Peko took a moment, before a smile grew on her face. 

—

Glancing at the clock on the second floor, she still had some time to walk around. She made her way to the animal shelter, to no surprise, where she saw Gundham who was holding a sick rabbit. He seemed to be feeding it, and petting him lightly trying not to scare the little creature.

“Young mortal, you should know it is not wise to sneak up on a dark lord. I have 10 eyes.” Gundham suddenly spoke, startling (name) which caused her to yelp in surprise. 

“Uh sorry sorry! I wasn't snooping or anything.” (name) said while taking a step forward, to which Gundham reacted. 

“Stop right there. If you value your life, don't come any closer.” He said while holding his bandaged hand up, with a stern look in his eyes. 

(name) simply smiled and held her hands up in defense as she took a small step back. She watched as he gently placed the rabbit back into the cage, and closed it. He stuck his hand through the bars, and she watched as the rabbit licked his finger. She didn't ignore the small smile placed on Gundham’s face. She couldn't help but smile herself. 

“Young mortal. What have you come to this place to do?” He spoke again, his eyes still watching the rabbit. 

“Actually I came to ask if you wanted to hang out.” She said happily. 

“‘Hang out?!’ A Dark Lord like me does not just ‘hang out’!” Gundham suddenly yelled, turning his gaze towards the girl. 

She chuckled at his sudden action. “Come on, it'll be fun! We can take care of the animals, or walk around the plane or do some other stuff! Whatever you want to do!” 

The Ultimate Animal Breeder seemed surprised at the enthusiasm of the girl in front of him. He was honestly touched at how she wanted to spend time with him. A light pink blush popped into his face as he grabbed his scarf to hide it. 

“F-fine.” He stuttered, “I will choose what we attend to!” He said as he stormed past her, which (name) still smiling, followed. She followed him down the stairs and was led to Gundham’s room. She walked in, and was hit with the aroma of cinnamon. She watched as Gundham lowered himself closer to the floor, as the Devas hopped out of his pockets and ran around off the floor. Gundham then walked over to his desk and grabbed a bag of sunflower seeds and tossed a couple on the ground, where the Devas began eating. 

(name) smiled slightly at the scene in front of her. “You really like animals, don't you? You take such good care of them.” She saw Gundham paused for just a split second, and turn and look at her with a confident smirk. 

“Ha! You make me laugh!” He boomed with a loud, deep laugh. (name) took that as a yes, as she smiled at his action. 

“Tell me, young mortal. Why did you desire to spend time with an evil dark lord?” Gundham questioned, as he sat on the edge of the bed, with his arms crossed. 

“I don't know—It’s always fun to talk to you.” She spoke innocently, scratching the back of her neck. 

“It is a nice gesture, however we do not know each other well.” Gundham said in a heavy tone, as he brought the scarf to cover his nose and looked at the Devas. 

(name) paused, quickly trying to think of what to say.

“My favorite color is (f/c). I hate steak and most of the time I over think things.” Now Gundham’s attention was on her. He stared at her with wide eyes as she kept going. 

“I’m afraid of spiders. And sharks. Most of the time I can feel people’s thoughts. I daydream a lot, and I love watching TV. It sucks that there's no TV’s here though.” After she was done bambling, she looked up at Gundham, who was still staring at her with wide eyes until he burst out laughing. 

“Hahahahahaha! It seems that I completely misread you. I never expected a human like you to have such unique qualities.” Those words caused (name) to giggle, as she felt her cheeks heat up slightly. 

“Young mortal! You have piqued my interest! I will allow you to live just this once!” 

She giggled. “I'm glad. I wasn't really interested in dying yet.” Then suddenly, a loud rumbling sound echoed throughout Gundham’s room. He looked around cautiously.

“Hehe, looks like I'm hungry.” (name) said while patting her stomach, and chuckling sheepishly. “Hey Gundham! Have you eaten yet? If not, let's head out!” 

Gundham nodded at her, and picked up the four Devas and walked up towards (name). They both walked out of his room, heading to the dining hall.

“Ah, young mortal.” Gundham said while stopping, alerting (name).

“Yes? What is it?”

“It seems I have forgotten to feed one of the lost animals.” 

(name) smiled at the fact that he was worrying about the animals. 

“No worries! Come on, let's go!” She said as she turned to head for the stairs. Gundham tried to fight the smile that creeped up on his face, but failed. 

Once they got to the shelter, she let Gundham go inside as she waited outside. The hall was quiet, as she assumed no one was up there. Then suddenly, she felt a shudder shake her core. A wisping feeling, just down the hall, nearing the 2nd Floor Lounge. 

“I am ready to depart—Hm? Your skin is like snow. What is it, little one?” Gundham spoke, taking (name) out of her daze. Her fingers reached for her face, slightly grazing over her cold skin. 

“S-sorry...I just got a really bad feeling. Coming from down there.” (name) pointed down the hall. Gundham softly grunted. 

“It is most likely your imagination. But very well, let us investigate to ease your rattling mind.” Gundham suggested, as (name) slowly nodded. He walked, as she crept closer to him, down the lounge. 

That feeling she got was right. Entering the hallway, her heart dropped—only allowing a ringing of anxiety to fill her ears, buzzing in a painful sensation.

Suddenly, the fun day that they had had gone into the dust, as her chest tightened which made it hard for her to breath correctly. 

(name) could feel that darkness surrounding them, almost suffocating them. 

“G-Gundham…” (name) muttered quietly, so softly she couldn’t tell if he heard. Her fingers had snaked around the arm of the coat, gripping it tightly from reassurance that she would never feel from seeing this. He was sweating bullets, as his skin seemed to turn pale and blue, as he looked away from the dead body. 

_ Teruteru… Why are you dead?  _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yay free time with akane, peko and gundham 
> 
> and oh no, teruteru is dead )))): 
> 
> investigation and trial chapter coming up soon! stay tuned!


	8. 07

“Teruteru…” (name) began shaking as she looked at the body in front of her. The floor was covered in blood, along with splatters on the wall. There was a hammer covered in blood, as heavy amounts of blood were splattered on Teruteru’s face. (name) had to force herself to turn away as she began to feel nauseous. 

“We need to tell the others. I’ll go and get them…” (name) muttered as she turned the other way and began walking, and then took onto a run. She could feel the cold sweat bead up on her forehead, making her shiver visibly. It didn’t occur to her that she was getting tired until she realized she was sprinting. She burst into the dining hall, where mostly everyone was, laughing and smiling. 

“(name)? Were you just running or something?” Hajime asked her curiously, and everyone was watching her. Her head was down, her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. As soon as she looked up and they saw her worried and scared face, they immediately knew something was wrong. 

“I-it’s Teru… teru…” She gasped out, standing straight and hugging her arms. “H-he’s dead…!” 

It didn’t take anymore words after that. They all made a run for the stairs, and all (name) could hear after a couple of seconds were screams. She too ran towards the stairs and up them. 

**DING DONG BING BONG**

Monokuma’s happy face appeared on the monitors, as he held a glass of juice in his hand. 

“A body has been discovered! After some time, the class trial will begin! So hurry it up and get to work, you bastards!” 

Once she reached the crowd, everyone was shocked to see Teruteru Hanumara, The Ultimate Chef, laying dead on the lounge floor. 

“Why… Why did this happen?!” Nekomaru boomed, sweating bullets. 

“Ah man, not this again…” Akane said with a sad expression as she scratched her head. 

“This is most unpleasant…” Byakuya said as he turned away from the sight at the body. 

“It looks like we are gonna have to investigate again.” Chiaki said she put her hood up and sighed. 

(name) sighed shakily, and pulled out her e-Handbook. It lit up and she tapped on the Monokuma Report. 

**VICTIM: TERUTERU HANAMURA**

**PLACE OF MURDER: 1st Floor Kitchen**

**CAUSE OF DEATH: MULTIPLE CERVICAL FRACTURES**

**TIME OF DEATH: LATE AFTERNOON**

“Hey Mikan, do you mind doing any autopsy?” Nagito asked the Ultimate Nurse, who had tears falling on her cheeks. 

“S-s-sure… I'll d-do my best…!” Mikan said while wiping away her tears, although more tears beaded up in her eyes as she went to the body. 

“Hey Hajime, can you come over here?” (name) called out to the spiky haired boy. 

“Hey, how are you doing?” Hajime asked concerningly, with a hand on her shoulder. 

“I'm okay for now.” She said with a shaky smile, as she gestured at her e-Handbook. “It says that he died in the first floor kitchen. So how come he is here on the 2nd floor?” 

“Hm… Maybe the killer dragged him here?” Hajime suggested.

“But...wouldn’t someone have noticed? If he was killed on the 2nd floor, there should be—“  _ Wait.  _

She stopped, earning a concerned look from Hajime, but a thought clicked in (name)’s head. She hadn’t thought of it until now.

“Hey, Monokuma!” She yelled out, voice budding with anger. On cue, the black and white bear appeared in front of her.

“You called for me, and so I appear!” His grin seemed even more devilish. 

“How come Teruteru is dead?” (name) said with an unreadable expression.

“Why is he dead, you ask? Well, in everyone’s life there comes a point where—”

“No.  _ Why  _ is he dead?” 

“Wha?” Monokuma tilted his head innocently with his paw to his mouth in a curious manner.

“We got the riddle right. So why did someone get injected with Injection X?” Her expression was unreadable. Anger was evident on her face, along with something else. Something that couldn’t be put into words, something like a seering anger that carried an empty expression. 

Monokuma paused. “Puhuhuhuh.” He chuckled. “Because I can. It makes things more fun!” 

“Why? Why would you break your own rule?” Hajime asked demandingly. 

“Why? It's pretty simple, really.” He looked down, and his head shot back up with his red eye glinted an even brighter and vibrant red. 

“ _ Despair. That's all. _ **_”_ ** He said in a calm, deadpanned voice. 

Those words triggered rage inside (name). She was quickly reminded of Junko—and that same despairing look that could give her nightmares. Swiftly and quickly, she lifted her foot and took a fast kick towards Monokuma’s face, which sent him flying into the wall. The students looked at her with surprise. 

“Ow, ow ow ow! That hurt!” Monokuma groaned as he rubbed the top of his head. 

“Come on, Hajime.” She said with an empty voice as she walked out. Hajime paused, taking one more look at the bear before running out after (name).

“That… brat!” Monokuma gritted out as he raised his paw up with sharp claws sticking out.

—

“I think we should start with the kitchen downstairs. To look for clues.” (name) said with a stern expression, as Hajime nodded. 

When they reached the kitchen, everything seemed perfectly normal. There was no mess, everything was neat. 

“Hey (name)! Look at the ground!” Hajime commanded, to which she obliged. There were faint tracks of dried blood on the ground. 

“These are tracks that lead out of the kitchen. So the killer dragged him out?” Hajime questioned, with (name) hummed in agreement. She then looked up, and saw the many knives and pans, steel and cast iron—that were hung nearly on an upper rack, and noticed that one of the cast iron pans was missing.

“Hey Hajime… One of the pans is missing.” 

“Yeah it is. Where could it have gone?” Hajime observed.

“I’m not sure, but I have a feeling that we won’t find it near here.” (name) muttered, eyeing the kitchen with a watchful eye as she shook her head. 

“Where do you think we should start?” Hajime questioned, as (name) pondered where they could take a look before something came into mind.

“Let’s check Teruteru’s room. We might not find the pan, but maybe we’ll find something.” (name) suggested, as Hajime nodded. They headed off to the forms. 

Once they reached Teruteru’s room, it was locked. 

“It’s locked.” (name) sighed, jiggling the handle again to no avail. Awkwardly, she felt a tug by her side, on her loose pants as she looked down. She met eyes with the white bear, Shirokuma. 

“Hi there! It seems you need to go into this room, right?” Shirokuma spoke kindly, and (name) blinked.

“Have you been there the whole time?” Hajime asked with a deadpan voice, eyeing the bear carefully. 

Shirokuma flinched slightly, wagging his paws to his defense. “Oh, no! I appear when you need me. I came to bring you this.” He held up a small key, with a small round icon of a pixelated Teruteru. 

(name) took the key, as Shirokuma nodded happily before disappearing again. (name) sent Hajime a look to which he just shook her head like he did not know the answer. 

“Let’s just go in.” 

She used the key to open the door. They were immediately hit with the smell of spices—basil, parsley, and cilantro, and many more. 

“Well, he was the Ultimate Chef. I'll take this half and you can take the other.” (name) stated, and got to work. She searched around, looking for anything that was out of place or odd, but she failed to find anything significant.

“I’m not finding anything. How about you Hajime?” As (name) took a step towards him, she kicked something hard that dug into her top of her foot. She gave a small yelp, falling forward into the floor of Teruteru’s room. She looked at the ground with confusion, as she traced her hand around the thing she had just kicked. She dug her hand under the carpet and grabbed the object. 

It was a bloody cast iron pan. Upon getting a better look at it, she dropped it in fear after seeing the blood. 

“What the hell!” (name) yelled in disgust. 

“Looks like we found our murder weapon. But why was it hidden under the carpet?” Hajime questioned, as he picked up the bloody weapon. (name) sighed, shaking her head and standing.

“For right now, let's head back to the body and see what else we can find.” 

The two did just that, heading back to the scene of the crime and heading directly for Mikan. 

“Hey Mikan, did you finish the autopsy?” Hajime questioned, as Mikan with teary eyes nodded frantically, curling her hands together in a nervous fit. 

“Y-yes…! Um—his neck is broken, his jaw is, um, fractured, along with bruising along the left side of his neck.” She stuttered out, pointing out Teruteru’s injuries and the swelling. “I’m having trouble figuring out what exactly could have done this.” 

Then (name) looked at the hammer that was covered in blood. She walked over, and picked it up, analyzing it. There was blood on it, yet something about it looked strange, and almost out of place. 

“Thanks, Mikan. You did good.” (name) praised, earning a shy smile from Mikan. 

Through the corner of (name)’s eye, she saw Akane walk in through the door, eating a big piece of meat. 

“Hey Akane. How are you doing?” She said as she approached the girl who was stuffing her face. 

“Mmhm! I'mf eating meat!” Akane said with her mouth full. 

“Did you happen to be in the kitchen before the murder?” Akane then swallowed her food quickly, and wiped her mouth. 

“Actually, yeah! I was in there lookin’ for some good grub!” 

“And did you see anyone?” 

Akane hummed to herself as she thought back, before nodding. “Yeah, man. I think a lot of people came in.” 

“Do you remember who?” (name) insisted, as Akane swiped another bite, chewing rather obnoxiously before nodding. 

“The gamer and princess came in, same with baby gangsta and the whiny girl too.”

“Is that it? No one else?” (name) interrogated, as Akane groaned.

“I can’t remember! Lemme eat first then I'll get back to ya!” Akane gave (name) a thumbs up, before chowing down again. 

(name) nodded, before walking again to Hajime, who saw her interaction with the Ultimate Gymnast. 

“Well, that wasn’t helpful.” Hajime sighed, rubbing a hand in his hair. 

“Maybe she’ll think of something soon. What else can we—” (name) spoke, before being cut off. 

“Ah, you two.” A smooth voice perked up, causing the two of them to snap out of their gaze. 

“Oh, Nagito.” Hajime spoke, his tone lacing with slight annoyance. 

Nagito smiled and walked up to them. “Have you two found anything useful for the trial?” He asked in a slight patronizing voice. 

“We did. What about you?” (name) questioned, curious to what he found. 

“Ah yes. Something  _ very  _ useful. But it’ll come to light during the trial.” His voice seemed to sneer and echo away as he walked over to Mikan and Akane. Something about his voice gave her chills, but she shook it off.

**DING DONG BING BONG**

Monokuma’s face once again popped up on the screen, as he began talking. 

“Time's up! Please go to the door for the class trial! Remember, walk down the dark long hallway and let's have some fun!~” Then the screen went black. (name) clenched her fists and took a deep breath. She was going to find out who did this, and figure out a way to end Monokuma’s despairing game. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhhh time for another trial! 
> 
> also i usually make hajime and (name) investigate just because they are/were both main characters of their own story, so i think it's fitting to have two mc's work together. 
> 
> thank u so so much and i'll see you next time!


	9. 08

The class trial room was redecorated—this time the walls were aligned with a dark wood, creating a more woodsy and vintage ambience.

“I redecorated! Do you like it?” Monokuma yelled out happily as he danced around. Shirokuma and Kurokuma once again stood next to Monokuma’s ‘throne’, standing like robots, they did not move or say anything. 

Everyone ignored Monokuma, clouded with their own thoughts. They took their stands and Monokuma climbed onto his seat, and began explaining the rules once again. 

“Now, for a quick review of the class trial. You will present your arguments for ‘whodunit’, and you will vote for who is the ‘blackened’. If you pick the right person, I'll punish only them. But if you pick the wrrooong person, I'll punish everyone besides the blackened, and that person earns the right to leave this aircraft! You guys already know how it goes. Sooo, let's get it started!” He sat on his seat like an energetic child at the edge of their seat. 

“Here here, I’ll get you started! Let’s start wiiiittthhhh... cause of death!” With that Monokuma sat back, and started to enjoy the ‘movie’. 

“Cause of death? Mikan, you tell us.” Hajime said to the shivering girl, who shrieked in surprise at being called out. 

“M-m-m-me?! B-b-b-but…!” She stuttered out nervously, as everyone’s eyes were on her. 

“What? Can you not talk now, you idiot pig!” Hiyoko yelled out at her, causing more tears to fall out of her eyes. (name) turned towards Mikan, and began talking calmly. 

“Mikan. You are the one who did the autopsy, so it’s only reasonable that you explain the cause of death.” With that, Mikan drew in a shaky breath, as she lifted up a paper with shaking hands, and began speaking.

“T-Teruteru died from a b-broken neck. There was bruising along the left side of his face as well.” After she was done, she seemed to sigh in relief to be done talking. 

“There’s no way, right? We wouldn’t do that!” Hiyoko squealed, eyes beading with tears. 

“I would like to believe that, but that just isn’t our reality.” Chiaki addressed, leading Hiyoko to sniffle with sadness. 

“So someone snapped the cook’s neck with their bare hands—evil, indeed.” Gundham remarked, crossing his arms. 

“B-b-but there were no signs that someone p-put their hands on Teruteru. Usually some indication is left, but there w-wasn’t any this time.” Mikan added, earning frowns from all over the room.

“So whoever broke Teruteru’s neck didn’t do it how it’s done in the movies.” Fuyuhiko noted, with Mikan nodding. 

“Huh? How else do you break someone’s neck, then? I’m confused.” Akane sighed.

“It is possible, perhaps just needs a little more force than usual.” Sonia mentioned. 

“ _Huh?!_ How do _you_ know that?” Hiyoko gasped, as Sonia’s eyes grew slightly before a light sparkle balanced in her eyes.

“Oh! I am a huge fan of crime dramas and documentaries. There was once a case where a marriage affair led to a scuffle, and the man had shattered the cervical bones in the woman’s neck with a hard punch.” Sonia explained. 

“So you’re saying that it’s possible to break someone’s neck with enough force?” (name) clarified, as Sonia nodded. 

“Ah!” Mikan gasped. “T-that’s it! That must explain the bruising!”

“Teruteru’s neck broke from a harsh enough impact to the head.” Hajime confirmed, earning silence for a moment. 

“Then, it has to be the hammer!” Kazuichi blurted, earning the attention of the room. 

“Because it was found at the scene of the crime?” Fuyuhiko inquired, and Kazuichi nodded.

“I see! So it was the hammer!” Nekomaru boomed.

“Let’s ignore the murder weapon for right now, let’s discuss the place of murder.” Chiaki initiated calmly, as she put her hood up. 

She continued talking. “The body was found in the 2nd floor lounge, but was killed in the first floor kitchen.” 

“Maybe the killer moved the body to the upstairs lounge.” Fuyuhiko explained.

“Well yes, but why would the killer do that?” Chiaki asked, to which everyone came silent and began to think. 

“Perhaps there was something on the second floor that was more significant for the body to be found there?” Peko started.

“Maybe they did it just because?” Akane shrugged, blurting out whatever was on her mind. 

“What if the killer did that to clear suspicion?” Sonia perked up, her hands together as she had a look of concern on her face. Everyone was then looking at her, considering what she had said to be true. 

“I am sorry. It was just a thought—!” 

“No, Sonia! That's good.” Hajime spoke up, nodding his head with a nervous smile on his face. She smiled back. 

“That is an interesting theory, however, what would the killer need to clear suspicion of?” Byakuya asked loudly, causing everyone’s thoughts to falter. 

“Maybe the killer was too tired and really killed Teruteru on the second floor!” Nekomaru blared out. 

“No, no! That doesn't make any sense!” Kazuichi argued. 

“Or maybe to relieve suspicion of the murder weapon?” Peko mumbled, although it was loud enough to hear. 

“Or even the place of murder…” Fuyuhiko spoke up, his fist clenched on his side. 

“Maybe it was because someone saw the killer or somethin’...?” Akane suggested, stance bored as she scratched the back of her head lazily.

“I got it! The killer moved the body to remove suspicion of both!” Hajime, who was leaning back and thinking intently, suddenly jumped up. 

“Of both…? Both what?” Hiyoko tilted her head to the side, with an innocent look on her face. 

“The killer moved the body to remove suspicion of place of murder and murder weapon.” (name) finished, nodding to herself as the logic made sense. 

“Oh I see! So the killer is someone who was on the 1st or 2nd floor!” Nekomaru said loudly. 

“That's all of us, genius.” Kazuichi said in an annoyed tone, while Nekomaru just laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. 

“I say it's the meat lady over there! She's always in the kitchen!” Hiyoko yelled out, pointing at Akane, who didn't seem to hear her. 

“...hm? Me?!” Akane yelled in surprise. 

“You _are_ always in the kitchen…” Peko said. 

“That's only to eat some good grub! You!” She said while pointing at Hiyoko. The Dancer squeaked in surprise. 

“You better take that back… Or I'll cut you in half!” Akane blared angrily, her fingers like claws as she yelled at Hiyoko, who looked like she was about to cry. 

A thought occurred in (name)’s head. Akane was with her in the afternoon, which makes sense since she was with Gundham later, the murder had already occured, so Akane couldn’t have done it. 

“Everyone, calm down. Akane didn't kill Teruteru.” (name) said calmingly, overlapping everybody’s voice. 

“What makes you so sure?” Gundham said in a deep and slow voice, as he held his scarf where the Devas were resting. 

“Because I was with Akane, probably during the murder.” She paused before continuing. “We went to the pool and we were there for a couple hours, so Akane couldn't have done it.” 

“Ah, I guess that settles it then.” The smooth voice perked up, lightheartedly. He had been listening to every word, quietly, but not saying anything. As if waiting for his cue, he jumped in unannounced, with a big smile on his face. 

“Akane is not the killer. I, however, know who it is.” Nagito’s voice echoed through the room, causing a chill to run through (name)’s spine. 

“You do? How could you possibly know that?” Fuyuhiko yelled out. 

“Because it was me.” Nagito said those words without hesitation, with a big smile on his face. 

“W-what?! But, how could that be?” Sonia gasped out in surprise. 

“I killed him. Simple as that.” Nagito repeated. (name) looked at him quietly, with furrowed brows as she looked at him. 

“If you claim you have killed him, explain how you did it.” Byakuya commanded loudly, pushing his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose. 

“Alright then. I was injected with Injection X, and met up with Teruteru in the kitchen and hit him on the head with a hammer, and dragged him to the second floor.” All with a huge smile, Nagito explained what he did to Teruteru. But (name) was smarter than to believe a simple explanation like that. 

“What did it feel like?” She asked him, to which he seemed to be caught off guard, as he turned and looked at her. 

“Hmm?” Nagito’s head tilted playfully—that smile not waning. 

“What did it feel like? The Injection X?” Nagito turned and looked at her, with wide eyes. The wide eyes turned into a crinkling smile as he started laughing. Not a happy laugh, but a gaspy, crazy laugh. He started clutching his chest as he gasped for breath in between his laughs. 

(name) mouth went into a straight line as she furrowed her brows in annoyance. 

“Hey, you psycho! What are you laughing about?” Kazuichi yelled, as he pointed at Nagito. 

“He didn't kill anyone. He's just messing with us.” (name) said, shaking her head in annoyance at the time that Nagito had just wasted. 

“Nagito… Why are you wasting our time like that?!” Hajime questioned him. 

“It was a simple test of your hope!~” He grinned to himself as he kept rambling. “A test to see if hope or despair will win; can hope destroy all despair and lead to something greater?” It seemed like he was questioning himself, as a psychotic grin was plastered on his face. 

“Nagito, I'm sorry but will you please be quiet?” Chiaki huffed as she held a finger up towards him. With that, Nagito was quiet. 

“So we know that it wasn't Nagito. I think we need to discuss the murder weapon again.” (name) declared. 

“Me too. It'll help lower the list of suspects.” Chiaki agreed. 

“It was the hammer right? I'm sure it was!” Kazuichi yelled out.

“You don't know that. It could've been something else.” Peko argued.

“Maybe it was the hammer! It was the only thing that could be a murder weapon!” Nekomaru boomed. 

“Or maybe it’s something else we don’t know of yet…” Fuyuhiko mumbled out. 

“Fuyuhiko!” (name) yelled out, causing him to jump slightly. 

“W-what? Did I get it right or somethin’?” (name) nodded at him with a smile on her face. 

“How are you sure that his word is correct?” Sonia questioned. 

“Because we found this.” She said while revealing the cast iron. The blood had dried, leaving a darker hue of pink over the cool metal. Somewhere in the room she felt someone freeze for just a moment. 

“Hm? How did you find that?” Byakuya questioned, speaking for everyone else in the room. 

“Yeah, what the hell is that?!” Kazuichi yelled out as well. 

“It's a bloody cast iron that Hajime and I found in Teruteru’s room.” She paused and turned the cast iron around so that the bloody side was showing—splotches and light splatters against the back side of it. “I think this is the real murder weapon.” 

She then turned to look at Nagito, who looked slightly surprised to see the weapon. “Hey Nagito. Based on your expression, I’m guessing you didn’t know about this.” Nagito simply smirked at her, and nodded. 

“That’s why he couldn’t be the killer.” Hajime confirmed.

“That just means we are back to where we started.” Fuyuhiko groaned. 

“So what are we supposed to do now?!” Hiyoko whined loudly. 

“Yes, this does leave us in a horrid position.” Gundham breathed loudly under his scarf. 

Something occurred to the Ultimate Mentalist. Nagito usually always had a reason for what he did, and whether it was for hope and despair that he always claimed—he was always a step ahead of everyone. (name) turned to look at Nagito, but Chiaki spoke before her. 

“Hey Nagito, you know something, don’t you?” Chiaki questioned, and the fluffy white haired boy stayed silent. 

“Hey, we’re talking to you!” Nekomaru yelled out towards him.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Is it my turn to talk now?” Nagito grinned, as he raised his hands in the air, as if he was shrugging. “In fact, I do. Hey Kazuichi…” Then all of the attention went towards the Ultimate Mechanic. 

“Hmm? What?” 

“Do you still have the thing I gave you to fix?” A lightbulb seemed to appear above as Kazuichi pulled out from his pocket a E-Handbook.

“Yeah. I did everything I could, but I wasn’t able to get it to turn on.” 

“Is that… A broken handbook?” Hajime inquired. “What does it have to do with this case?” 

“I found this poor guy in the oven. It was over 475 degrees fahrenheit.” Nagito mused, grinning widely.

“...Annnnd? What does that have to do with anything, you stupid idiot?!” Hiyoko blared out, anger fuming off of her face. 

“The question is, why would anyone put this Handbook in the oven in the first place? It’s almost like they were trying to-” Nagito started. 

“Destroy it.” (name) finished Nagito’s sentence. 

“B-b-but why w-would they put it in the o-oven? T-the killer could’ve just smashed it or s-something?” Mikan questioned. 

“Why don’t you ask _him_?” Nagito spoke as he pointed towards the bear who was sitting in his throne, chowing down on a big piece of chicken. He didn’t seem to notice that everyone was looking at him, until his red eye glinted and he was suddenly in action. 

“Hm? Whawhawhawha…?” 

“Monokuma. Do the E-Handbooks have a weakness?” Hajime questioned Monokuma, which seemed to catch him off guard. 

“W-what are you talking about?! Of course not!” Monokuma tried his best to sound convincing but (name) caught the sudden stutter in his voice, and she narrowed her eyes at him. 

“Stop lying. Tell the truth.” (name)’s eyes hardened at the bear, which he seemed to catch. 

“Alright alright, Miss I-Can-Read-Anyone’s-Mind. Gosh, so nosy! Okay! The E-Handbook’s weakness is high temperatures! There! Are you happy now?!” Monokuma huffed out like a child. 

“So Nagito, how’d you know about it?” Chiaki asked. 

“Hm? I overheard it.” 

“You overheard it?” Sonia spoke, beads of sweat on her forehead as a worried expression was plastered on her face. 

“I did indeed. By Monokuma himself, and one other person.” 

“Who was this ‘other’ person you speak of?” Gundham interrogated. 

“Yeah, yeah! Who is it?” Hiyoko yelled excitedly. 

“It’s someone who had enough opportunity to go and kill Teruteru. Someone who could hide in the shadows, and not worried about being seen. Almost like an imposter _._ ” Nagito sneered darkly. 

“But why would they get rid of the E-Handbook? It’s not like it’s incriminating.” (name) questioned. 

“But what if it was?” Chiaki contemplated, tapping her chin curiously. 

“I don’t get it.” Akane sighed. 

“Me too! What could have been incriminating about the E-Handbook?!” Nekomaru shouted. 

“Yeah, was it broken when Teruteru was killed?” Hajime asked.

“The better question might be whose E-Handbook it is.” Nagito added, crossing his arms patiently. 

“Are you suggesting that the E-Handbook that was destroyed is not Teruteru’s?” Sonia considered.

“That would make sense, wouldn’t it?” Chiaki speculated. “Maybe the killer’s E-Handbook was destroyed and they had to get rid of it to erase the incrimination.” 

“So the killer—the imposter, as Nagito says—is the one who asked Monokuma how to destroy an E-Handbook.” (name) established. 

“An imposter? What do you mean?” Peko spoke up, gripping her bamboo sword. 

“Ah, my apologies. Not really an imposter, more like someone who is really curious, but also extremely resourceful.” Nagito spoke vaguely, grinning to himself. 

“Who the fuck is it?! We don’t have time for your shit!” Fuyuhiko burst out loudly, his face turning slightly red as he clenched his fist tightly. 

_Someone curious, but also resourceful? Who is he talking about?_

“Your riddles are quite obnoxious. Who are you talking about?” Byakuya spoke up, with a troublesome sigh and his brows furrowed. (name) felt that same chill again when Byakuya spoke, and her eyes locked onto his blue eyes and for only a brief moment, they locked eyes. (name) held it, but when Byakuya glanced away just slightly, the chill froze (name)’s body when she realized.

_Oh._

(name) expression lifted as she realized who it was. 

“You just realized it just now, didn’t you (name)?” Nagito said with an indescribable smile on his face. She nodded, face falling into a distant inure. 

“What?! (name), you know?! Who is it?!” Kazuichi yelled out, anxious to get the answer out. 

Before (name) could answer, Hajime gasped out loud. 

“Looks like Hajime figured it out also.” Nagito smiled. 

It was the next words out of Hajime’s mouth that stopped the room itself, as all eyes turned to the Ultimate Affluent Progeny. 

“Byakuya. It was you, wasn’t it?” Byakuya halted, just barely before his eyes turned to glare at Hajime. 

“...What?” It wasn’t a question, but a statement. It came out cold and dictatorial, like it was forbidden for someone to talk to him in such a way. 

“I asked if you killed Teruteru. Did you?” Hajime questioned further.

“Why in the world would I want to kill Teruteru?” He defended himself.

“You wouldn’t. That’s the point of Injection X. You never want to kill, but it forces you to.” (name) joined in. 

“Also, earlier, when (name) pulled out the cast iron, your reaction was pretty strange.” Chiaki spoke as well, as they reflected on Byakuya’s past words. 

_“Hm? How did you find that?”_

“I don’t know about you, but that was pretty weird to me.” Chiaki added. 

“Oh? Am I not allowed to react?” Byakuya turned his back towards the rest of his classmates. 

“It’s not the reaction, but _how_ you phrased it!” Kazuichi reflected. 

“A person of ignorance would have asked ‘why’, yet you responded with ‘how’, as if it should have been impossible to find it.” Gundham observed. 

“Nagito said it was someone who could not be seen at all times. That easily can be interpreted as someone who doesn’t spend his time with others, someone who prefers to be by himself.” (name) spoke, hoping to get it out of him. But she knew that would be too easy.

“So just because I spend most of my time alone, it suddenly makes me a killer? You imbecile.” He countered back. 

“No, you dumbass! It means you don’t have an alibi!” Fuyuhiko said, backing up (name).

“Hm.” He huffed out, with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. (name) narrowed her eyes at him, and could see the slight jitters of his body. She could see that his breathing had accelerated slightly, and his posture was slightly slumped to the side. 

“Fine then. Tell us exactly what you were doing, and where you were during the murder.” (name) demanded, her eyes engaged on Byakuya, ready to study his movements and gestures. 

“I was in the library, like I usually am. I was reading an interesting crime novel, about a serial killer with a split personality.” She noticed that his finger twitched slightly when he mentioned the library. 

“Is that true, Byakuya?” Sonia asked sadly, skepticism running through her.

“If you don’t want to believe me, then don’t.” Byakuya spat back.

“Byakuya. Why are you lying?” (name) countered. 

“What are you going on about now?” 

“You can lie, but your body can’t. When you said you were at the library, your finger involuntarily jerked. Hey, Akane?” (name) called out to the dark haired girl. 

“Hm? What's up?” She said while scratching her head. 

“Who did you say you saw in the kitchen?”

“It was the princess and the gamer, and baby gangsta with the whiny girl.” She paused for a moment, before her eyes grew wide, eyebrows lifted as she must have realized something. “Oh! The cook was there... with tubby over here! Yeah! That’s right! They were both just chowin’ down on some grub that the Chef dude made.” Akane remembered, voice growing loud as things began to clear up. 

“Ham Hands? You really killed Teruteru?” Hiyoko's soft voice spoke up, as she asked him the question. 

“Byakuya…” Sonia mumbled quietly. 

“Just tell the truth, Byakuya. We'd understand why you did what you did, it's not your fault.” Chiaki spoke, with a small smile on her face. 

“Nagito. He's the one you heard talking to Monokuma, right?” (name) asked as Nagito nodded. This time, Byakuya stayed quiet. 

“Byakuya, show us your E-Handbook.” Hajime spoke, silencing the room for a few moments. 

“If you show us the handbook, then that could prove your innocence. So please—prove us wrong.” Chiaki pleaded in a soft voice. 

“Come on, man! Just show us!” Fuyuhiko yelled out. Silence again. 

“Byakuya!” Kazuichi called out to him, and with a softening sigh, Byakuya finally spoke.

“Fine. I will show you.” His voice came out like thunder. Unexpected, oddly confident. (name) breath hitched, suddenly her heart was pounding. She did not share Byakuya’s founding confidence, but she could feel it. Along with the hollowness that was emanating from his body. 

Slowly, he pulled out the handbook. Clean and pristine, sleek black as the screen glimmered with light as it opened on command. 

And with that, Byakuya’s guilt was sealed. 

_Welcome, Teruteru Hanumura._

A heavy languish sigh escaped (name). She stared at the letters until the screen faded to black again. Her sigh caved herself in—heavily laced with disappointment and sadness, and she could not stop the wincing spark in her chest and soon tears were beginning to build in her eyes. 

“I killed Teruteru. We were simply eating, when I tasted something bitter, and it was like my whole vision went black. Then next thing I knew, Teruteru was on the ground, dead. My body moved on its own. I couldn't do anything to fight it. I picked up his body, and carried him to the second floor, and placed the fake weapon to move suspension from myself. Somehow, my E-Handbook ended up damaged with a large crack through the center. I knew that if someone saw it, suspicion would settle on me. I inquired on how to dispose of evidence from Monokuma, turned the oven on and threw his handbook in there, hoping to get rid of all evidence.” The courtroom went silent, as everyone looked at Byakuya with sad expressions. 

“Well well well! Looks like you have your answer! Please pull the lever in front of you and cast your vote! Who will be chosen as the blackened? Will you pick the right choice? Or the dreadfully wroooong one?!”

Silence went by, as (name) wished the darkness would come and swallow her up. 

“DING DING DING! YOU GOT IT! The one who killed the perverted Ultimate Chef, was **Byakuya Togami!** ” Monokuma blared out, his grin seemed to be even wider than usual. “And here I thought he'd last just a bit longer!” 

“It was you, huh? I was really hoping that it wouldn’t turn out like this.” Hajime said, causing Byakuya to look down at him. 

“Hm? I may have ended his life but this however, won’t be the end.” Byakuya replied.

“What do you mean by that?” Nagito questioned him, to which Byakuya took a step back and lifted his arms in the air.

“Rejoice, commoners! For today, I will show you how farther above I am. This may be the end for me, but however it is not the end for you.” 

“Well, no reason to waste any time! Let’s get this punishment started!” Monokuma said, as he slowly made his way towards the students.

“I am Byakuya Togami! The Affluent Progeny! In the sake of my name, I will not allow it to be tarnished. So, when the smallest possibility approaches, do not hesitate to call it a miracle.” 

“Let’s give it everything we’ve got! _It’s Punishment timeeee!”_

Byakuya then went and turned towards Hajime. “I am leaving my family’s name to you. Do not hesitate without my permission. In other words, do _not_ lose.” Hajime seemed to catch his hidden message, and nodded at him, as Byakuya turned around, so his back was facing towards him. He raised his hand, and waved without looking back. A giant hook came through the door and wrapped around his waist as he was yanked back, and the huge monitor on the screen appeared once again. 

There was Byakuya, in the same place that Mahiru once was, with the airplane door open. Monokuma was there behind him, laughing maniacally, as he shoved him off of the plane and into the sky. 

_Byakuya._ (name) thought. _Even in his last words, I could feel the fear in him._

As if a bright light shined through the clouds, something came and shot through the clouds at lightning speed. An arrow pierced through his body, causing Byakuya’s eyes to shoot open in shock as he looked at the bloody arrow. He was still falling, when another arrow shot out from the clouds, and another, and another.

_Back then, you were trying to tell us to be hopeful, weren’t you? To not give up until we beat the mastermind?_

Once about 100 arrows pierce through every direction of Byakuya’s body, Monokuma jumped out of the plane. His long sharp claws were out, as he pierced Byakuya’s body one more time, before doing a complete spin move, and at the last second, hurling his body towards the sun. 

_I won’t give up. We won’t give up. I’ll make sure your family’s name does not get tarnished, and I won’t stop until we beat Monokuma. For you._

(name) heard Sonia’s muffled cries, and Hiyoko’s loud screams as everyone else gritted their teeth and grunted. Yet more of their friends were dead. It was like a never ending cycle. Like a spider’s web that you couldn’t get out of, or as if you were trapped in a box. 

_It was like a bad dream; one that kept repeating over and over, until you knew every damn detail about it._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi everyone! sorry it took me so long to post another chapter it really shouldn't have taken me this long but oh well life hits ya sometimes
> 
> thanks so much for all the support and everything, im so glad the few reading this actually really like it despite my inconsistencies and grammar errors haha i am always trying to improve my writing for you all so thanks so much for sticking with me!
> 
> hope you're all doing well, and i'll see you soon! 
> 
> -me


	10. 09

_ The sky was a deep red, like the color of blood. The city was destroyed, buildings broken and glass shattered, as dead bodies and blood was decorated everywhere. The only sounds were the mechanically movements of robots, as unsettling laughter was thick in the air. Screams of lost family members; grieving husbands, depressed wives, and constant death. It was like despair had swallowed the world, caging everyone in it, laughing at anyone who believes hope could even peek through.  _

_ “(name)! Come on, hurry!” A distant voice called out to her. She turned towards the voice, unfortunately to only see a silhouette of a figure. The person’s hand was held out to her, waiting for her to grab it and take a hold.  _

_ “Watch out!”  _

_ Where… _

_ “Behind you! Run!” _

_ Am I? _

_ “Hurry!”  _

_ “ _ (name)!”

(name) shot up so quick, she butted heads with the person in front of her. She groaned from the sudden pain searing through her scalp, as her eyes were still fuzzy from her slow awakening. The first thing she saw was yellow eyes.

“Godfuckingdamn—Ow!” 

“Fuyuhiko? What are you doing here?” (name) croaked out, once her racing heart settled when she understood she was in her room. It must’ve still been early—she left the trial and walked sourly to her room, crashing immediately from exhaustion. He was wearing a long-sleeved black shirt and baggy black pants.

“I couldn't sleep since you kept whimpering and whining. I could hear you from my room.” Fuyuhiko groaned, still rubbing his forehead that left a light red mark. 

“S-sorry. What time is it?” (name) apologized, feeling slightly embarrassed. 

“Like 4 am. Have you been sleeping this whole time?” 

(name) sighed, scooting her legs towards herself and gestured for him to sit on the bed. He did. “Yeah. It was… too much.” 

“How are you holdin’ up?” Fuyuhiko asked gently, and (name) sighed again, a bitter smile perking on her face. 

“As well as anyone else. What about you?” 

Fuyuhiko shrugged, dragging a hand across the back of his neck tiredly. “Fuck… I’m just—doin’ the best I can.” 

(name) nodded absently. “Four of us have died now. And we can’t do anything about it. The riddles don’t even matter anymore—Monokuma controls everything.” She spoke vacantly, low and quiet. She paused, and dangerous thoughts rushed into her head all at once. “Who’s going to be next? What are we gonna do? What if it’s you? What if it’s me—“

“Don’t think like that!” She was cut off by a warm hand grabbing hers, cutting her out of her daze. “We’ll win. Just like Byakuya said we would.” 

Her eyes fell to his gold ones, and she bit her lip to hold in her frustrated tears. “Do you think so?” Her voice quivered, shakily and unconfident. 

Fuyuhiko’s hand squeezed hers. A small grin grew on his face. “Yeah. No matter what happens—we’ll beat that dumb bear.” 

She nodded, staring into his eyes for the confirmation that she needed. She smiled a bit. “I know that I should be trying to stay positive, but it’s so hard. Everyone’s emotions get mixed with mine and I can’t sort them out so it just weighs down on me and makes me  _ so  _ tired.” (name) let out—the first time letting someone in like she did. Her whole life she’s had to conceal her true emotions, only casting a happy mask to not let people see what their presence can do to her. 

“Hey.” Fuyuhiko started with a kind voice, squeezing her hand softly. “You’re not in this alone. We’ll get through it. I’ll tell everyone to be happier so it doesn’t affect you as much.” 

(name) chuckled softly, before nodding with a smile. “I’d like that. ...We’ll get through it, together.” 

Fuyuhiko nodded with a soft smile, letting go of her hand and allowing the cold to quickly slip in. (name) yawned, and he took that as his cue. “Try to sleep. I’ll see you later.” He stood from the bed, heading for the door.

“Hiko?” (name) called out. 

He turned, a light blush brushing against his cheek. “Hiko, huh? You haven’t called me that since the other world.” 

“Thank you.” (name) spoke softly, and his eyes grew for only a moment before he smirked. 

“Don’t mention it.” 

—

(name) awoke at a more appropriate time to the harsher knocking on her door. She was tired and a bit sweaty, and was able to sleep without the interruption of nightmares. She yawned, before walking over to the door. 

“(name)! Come on, I’m getting hungry!” The voice kept yelling through the door. Only one person would be talking about food at this time. 

“Yo! Bout time you woke up! Apparently Monokuma left us some good food, so hurry up and join us!” Akane greeted when (name) opened the door. 

“He did? Well, let me get dressed and I’ll meet you there.” She told Akane to go ahead, who gladly took the offer, walking down the hallway.

Once (name) was done freshening up, she headed for the dining hall to get some food. 

—

“Hey (name)! Hurry up and eat!” Akane said as (name) walked into the dining hall, stuffing her face. Everyone then proceeded to greet her, and continued to eat. She sat down next to Sonia, who gladly set a plate down in front of her, and (name) began eating gratefully. 

“ _ Aaaaaaagh!”  _ A shriek sounded from the table, and (name)’s head jerked to the source—Kazuichi startling the whole table. But her eyes darted to what he was screaming at, and it was somewhat understandable. There was Shirokuma, who had suddenly appeared atop of the table, just a paw away from stepping into Kazuichi’s food. 

“ _ Aaaaaah!”  _ Shirokuma screamed as well, piercing the room. 

“Why are  _ you  _ screaming, you bastard?!” Fuyuhiko shouted.

“Is there a reason you’re here, Shirokuma?” Sonia addressed the shaking white bear. 

“W-w-well—“ 

“Why are you sneakin’ up on me like that?!” Kazuichi shuddered, face a tad blue. 

“I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you. I was just here to tell you that he said to go take a look at the 3rd floor when you get a chance!” Shirokuma explained. 

“T-third floor? W-what’s up there?” Mikan stuttered, shaking slightly. 

“Well, we can’t find out until we go look, duh.” Hiyoko spat, huffing with annoyance. 

“I wonder what sights we have in store for us. Let us look at once!” Gundham announced, standing from the table. 

“Alright, I’m game!” Akane grinned, slamming her hands on the table, shooting up from the table. 

“We should be cautious.” Chiaki warned. “We don’t know if Monokuma’s set up any traps.” 

“Yeah, let’s be as careful as possible.” Hajime agreed, and with that it was settled—the group nodded in agreement. 

“We should not waste time. Let’s go to the 3rd floor!” Sonia declared, as she headed for the stairs. 

—

This time, the third floor was gifted with a recreation room, an infirmary, movie room, and study hall—occupied with desks and studying materials. It had the same few empty classrooms and bathrooms. The hue of the floor was darker than the second and first, offering a navy blue along the walls and carpeting. 

“At least there's something to do up here. The rec room is full of games and magazines.” Kazuchi sighed tiredly. 

“Did you say a rec room?” Chiaki huffed, as drool slid out of her mouth as she was suddenly visibly more eager.

“Yeah. Chiaki, you would totally love it.” (name) smiled at the eager girl, who turned around to the direction of the room, until Monokuma popped up in her way, stopping her.

“Ah ah ah! Not yet not yet! I haven't even told you about this floor yet!” The bear cheered, paws along his tummy as he gave a hearty laugh. 

“Why are you here?” Hajime asked, cutting into Monokuma’s happy aura. 

“So eager once again, Hajime! You better be careful or I might get fired up!” Monokuma put his paws on his mouth, chuckling again. 

“Well since you are so eager, I wanted to inform you since you bastards have gotten the killer right these past couple of times, I wanted to do something  _ special  _ for you.” 

“Like what?” (name) asked. 

“A party! You know, with food, drinks, maybe even a little Spin-The-Bottle…?” He breathed out, as his eye glinted.

“A party, you say? How do we know it's not just a scheme to inject one of us?” Gundham’s deep voice spoke up. 

“It's not. I promise.” Monokuma swore, but something was a bit off with his voice. (name) could detect it. 

“How do we know you aren't lying?” Fuyuhiko said angrily. 

“Look, I said I’m not going to inject anyone! Believe it or not! Grrr, you guys make me angry…” Monokuma growled, before sinking into the floor and disappearing from sight. 

“What a dumb bear.” Hiyoko spat out.

“Well, no point in trying to ask him about it. Let's just get our day going.” Hajime spoke as the voice of reason. With that, everyone went their separate ways, and went through their day as they usually did. 

  
  


**FREE TIME**

(name) decided to walk around, looking for something to do as she went from room to room, floor to floor. The fact that they had to go on their own as “usual” made her feel trapped, sick, even. She hated that she was stuck on this plane, wondering if they would ever get off. 

As she was trapped in her thoughts, she managed to bump into someone pretty harshly, causing her to snap out of her mind and land on the ground. She blinked a couple of times before looking up to see Fuyuhiko, who had also fallen on the ground, rubbing a red spot on his forehead. 

“Ah goddammit-!” Fuyuhiko cussed as he grumbled. Once he caught a look at who he had bumped into, he grinned. “Again? Sorry, (name).” His voice was lighter with a slight chuckle, as he stood. 

“No, no I’m sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going.” Fuyuhiko gazed at her for a bit, before lending her his hand, which she took. 

“What crazy shit were you thinking about?” Fuyuhiko asked suddenly, causing (name) to look up at him in slight surprise. 

She relaxed after a moment, tilting her head to the side with a sly smile. “How’d you know I was thinking of something crazy?” 

Fuyuhiko smirked. “I think I know you pretty well now. You always get that absent look on your face when you’re thinkin’ hard.” 

She smiled. “Well—look at you, Ultimate Observer. You’re starting to become like me.” (name) teased, before a light sigh left her. “Yeah, as usual, the same thoughts that haunt me ever since we’ve been here. But I’m working around it—with your help, I’ve been feeling better.” 

“Glad I could do something helpful in this trashhole. This place is fuckin’ awful, but if I know that I helped even a little, it’s worth it.” Fuyuhiko answered honestly, absently as his eyes relaxed. 

(name) nodded in a silent agreement. A small moment passed before she spoke. 

“Where were you going before you bumped into me? You look like… you're hungry?” (name) offered an observant suggestion, catching him off guard as well, as his cheeks turned a slight pink. 

“N-no. I was just… walking around.” He shifted his gaze away from hers, crossing his arms almost like a child, only to make her smile. 

“No, you're hungry all right. And by your body language and posture, and how flushed your cheeks are, I can tell that… you’re craving something. Maybe one of your favorite foods?” She smirked, as his eyes went wide, as his cheeks went red. “And since I  _ think  _ I know you pretty well—I’m gonna take a guess, okay?” 

“There’s no way you know what my—”

“Oh! Fried dough cookies, right?” 

“What the fuck…? How'd you know that?!” He fumbled out in surprise, causing (name) to giggle. 

“I'm the Ultimate Mentalist, remember? I can tell what you're thinking.” She said with a wink and a big smile on her face. 

“No one said you could read minds, too.” Fuyuhiko grumbled under his breath, a clear pout evident on his face. 

“Don't just stand there and mumble to yourself! Let's go get you some!” She interrupted him as she grabbed his hand and made a run for the kitchen. Entering the big kitchen, (name)’s eyes darted all around. Once she spotted the large storage room in the back, she led Fuyuhiko there. Shelves and shelves that ran all the way to the back of the narrow room—fruits, vegetables, snacks, spices, seasonings, condiments of all kinds. Even a freezer off to the side stored with meat and other expendables that needed to be frozen. She pushed Fuyuhiko to one side of the room, while she moved to the opposite. 

“You look over there, and I’ll look over here!” She instructed, before diving into her search. She checked everything she could see, but to no avail. 

“Hiko, I’m not finding anything. What about you?” (name) called out after a hasty amount of looking. 

“Nope. Nothing here.” His voice answered for a small distance away. (name) pondered, eyes not following a particular direction as they wandered around the shelves. Her head rose upward, scanning the top shelves with her eyes before a box at the top caught her eyes. She smiled when she could read the label of the box, then started to look for a way up. Noticing enough room to put her feet on the edge of the shelf, she began to climb up.

“Hey (name), we can eat something else. I don’t wanna waste anymore time if they aren’t—what  _ are  _ you doing?!” Fuyuhiko suddenly gasped, as he walked around the corner where (name) was looking to see her already halfway up the shelf, knocking down boxes and spices on her way up. 

“I… found them! Hold on…” (name) huffed, reaching out for the box. 

“H-hey! Be careful!” Fuyuhiko shouted with concern. 

(name) stretched her hand out, balancing on a wobbly box as her fingers grazed the box, and pulling herself up just a tad as her fingers grabbed the side of the box.

“Got it—woah!” That wobbly box she was standing on slipped further under her, and in that same moment the large shelf shifted, and suddenly her body was being jolted in the air. The boxes that were residing on the top along with the cookies fell off the shelf, heading in her direction as she slammed back into the ground, with a pile of boxes landing on top of her. 

“(name)!” Fuyuhiko shouted, throwing his hands under the boxes and lifting them off of her. “Are you okay?” 

(name) sneezed—her face, hair and clothes now coated in a bed of white flour. She had landed on a few bags, stopping her fall. She beamed at him, lifting the box of delicate fried dough cookies to Fuyuhiko. 

“Found ‘em!” Fuyuhiko blinked, before a relaxed smile joined his face. He reached out, placing a hand in her floured hair and ruffled it.

“You idiot.” (name) couldn't help but grin. 

— 

After getting herself cleaned up, (name) was in the mood for some mindless entertainment. Feeling bored, she wandered up to the movie room of the third floor, hoping that maybe a movie could clear her head. 

The room was nice—a giant plasma TV nailed to the wall as she entered, cushioned by two large shelves on either side filled with movies of the highest quality. A large round couch was fitted nicely in the center of the room, with bean bags and other comfortable seats accompanied with the room. A basket of neatly folded blankets neared the end of the couch as well. 

(name) jumped when she heard a sharp squeak coming from the corner of the room, and her head snapped to see Mikan, sprawled oddly on the floor, with discs of DVDs surrounding her. 

“A-ahh! Sorrysorrysorrysorry!” 

“Mikan, what happened?” (name) crouched beside her, helping out of her unusual usual position, staking up the cases for the DVDs.

“I-I-I was looking at the m-movies when I t-tripped… I’m sorrysorrysorrysorry!” Her words came out stuttered and jumbled with her skin turning slightly pale. 

“No, it’s alright.” (name) sent her a reassuring smile. “Were you thinking about watching a movie?” 

Mikan gave her a shaky, hesitant nod. 

“I’ll join you! If that’s okay with you?” (name) suggested. 

“I-I can l-leave if you want! I don’t w-wanna be a b-b-bother to you! Oh no—I’m s-sorry! S-someone like me shouldn’t b-be in a n-nice place like t-this!” 

“No, Mikan! I want you to watch with me!” (name)’s eyes shot to the stack of movies on the ground. “You wanted to watch a horror movie, right?” She reached out, grabbing the first one on the pile. “How about Saw?” 

Milan’s eyes lit up, nodding eagerly. “O-okay! Saw is o-one of m-my favorites!” 

Indeed, she expressed that heavily as they watched. (name) cowered behind a blanket, shivering in fright throughout the gory movie, cringing at the loud chainsaw and constant gushing of blood. Mikan loved it—even mentioning that she loves horror movies because of the blood and gore, and how it could pertain to her medical experience. And when the movie  _ finally  _ ended, she clapped with enthusiasm and a smile, while (name) stared blankly, trying to not let the dangerous images haunt herself. 

“Usually… with t-that type of wound, it would t-take more than common s-stitches to s-save someone. It would t-take years of e-experience, a whole team of n-nurses and surgeons, even a—O-Oh! I’m t-t-talking too much, a-aren’t I? I-I’m sorry...” Mikan started with a rare eagerness that was always so void of the anxious girl, but once she was made conscious of herself, it faded in an instant. 

(name) was quick to shake her head. “No! It’s nice to hear you excited about something. You know, you don’t stutter as much when you’re talking about what you enjoy.” (name) smiled at her. “You should try and be more confident!” 

Mikan flinched, slightly. “D-D-Do you t-think s-so? I don’t k-know if t-there’s much f-for m-m-me to be c-confident about…” 

“Of course there is! You have a passion for helping people  _ and  _ you’re great at it! You’re beautiful, super caring, and strong enough to overcome  _ her  _ hold on you!” (name) sat up, pumping her fists together. “Here, I know something that can boost you up a bit. Repeat after me, okay? I’m Mikan and I’m great!” (name) suddenly shouted, allowing a small yelp to escape the nurse. 

“I-I don’t k-know…” 

“Come on, try it! I’m Mikan and I’m great!” 

“I-I’m M-M-Mikan and—“ She first started, mumbling quietly to herself. 

“Louder!” 

“I-I’m M-Mikan and—“ She started again, at a normal volume level. 

“Louder! Really shout it out!” 

“I-I’m Mikan and—“

“A  _ little  _ louder! You can do it!” 

“I’m Mikan and I’m great!” Mikan finally shouted, her voice squeaking as she clenched her eyes shut before really letting it out. 

(name) grinned widely. “You sure are! That was awesome.” She praised Mikan, who once she realized what she has done, too smiled. 

“W-wow… I’ve never s-shouted like that before. It was fun!” 

“I think shouting can give you a good boost whenever you need it.” (name) nodded to herself before looking towards Mikan. “So if you’re feeling self-conscious, then let out a good shout.” 

Mikan nodded intensely, truly taking in the words. “I… w-want to be more confident. S-starting today! I’m gonna work o-on myself!” She suddenly stood. “I’m g-gonna show e-everyone my shout!” She announced proudly, before darting around the couch and out of the door. 

(name) watched her go, and a big, happy grin was plastered on her face. 

— 

Leaving the movie room, she glanced at the clock on her e-Handbook to see that she still had a bit of time before the party that Monokuma had planned. She debated resting in her room, but knew that her thoughts would race too far ahead for her to grasp properly. She shook her head to dispel the dark thoughts that were already beginning to climb. 

She started walking aimlessly, glancing at every door in hopes that it would spark some inspiration of something to pass the time. 

She hadn’t even realized that she was already back on the first floor until she hit the last step and paused. 

Then, turning the corner by the stairs she spotted Hajime, walking in the direction of the stairs. A smile grew on her face. 

“Hajime!” 

He must’ve not spotted her yet, jumping slightly with wider eyes. “Oh, (name). Didn’t see you there.” He eventually smiled. 

“What are you doing?”

“I think I’m gonna head to the library.” He answered with a pondering look. 

“You think?” She teased, earning a sheepish smile from the spiky haired boy. 

“I was still deciding what I’d wanted to do. I feel like I’ve been everywhere so I was getting bored.” Hajime chuckled. 

“I get it. Can I join you?” 

“Sure.” 

(name) grinned, before walking beside Hajime as they headed to the library. 

The library was quiet and resolute, which was the opposite of what (name) needed. Hajime and her sat at a round table, littered with books and magazines—hers a compilation of dream theory and memory retrivation, while Hajime’s was a few historical and philosophical books. She smiled—the Hajime she had first met probably wouldn’t find such things that interesting, but she had to keep reminding herself that he now shared a body with a different soul, yet he was stronger, overcoming him. 

She couldn’t focus. She was reading a section that had been engraved in her brain of body language when it comes to memory retrieval, but her mind kept wandering. 

Red kept flashing in her mind—blurry images of a red sky with darker clouds riddled her mind. Questions ran through her head. Why was she seeing that? Was it a vision? A memory? It felt so oddly familiar, yet so far away and so unrecognizable. 

“(name).” Hajime called out to her, but her eyes had settled on a spot on the table, as her concentration continued. 

_ How did we get here? Are we going to get out of here? We have to, right?  _

“(name).” Her eyes snapped to Hajime’s as he finally seemed to capture her attention. He sent her a knowing look, gesturing to the corner of the page she was holding. “You’re wrinkling the page.” 

Sure enough, she glanced down and her fingers that scrunched the corner of the page tightly, to the point that it was about to rip. She let go, trying to smooth it out. 

“S-sorry… I can’t focus. Maybe I should find something different to read.” (name) chuckled to herself, glancing around at the bookshelves. 

“Are you sure you want to read? You seem… preoccupied.” Hajime inquired, closing his own as he focused on her. 

“Yeah! Don’t worry about me, okay? I’m alright!” One of her forced smiles grew on her face. It was something that she mastered in becoming a Mentalist—she had studied people for so long that being able to lie and manipulate was a skill she developed. Not that she thrived on it—in fact, she  _ hated  _ that part of herself, but sometimes was necessary. (name) would get called to consult on investigations or interrogate suspects, and it seemed to always prove useful, or seemed to trick those she wanted to trick. 

She was surprised looking towards Hajime’s reaction—he didn’t seem to believe her, but before he could analyze her anymore, she had gotten up and headed to the rack that was neatly lined up with an assortment of magazines. She hastily grabbed a couple that she had no particular interest in, before hurrying to sit back at the table. She still kept her fake smile, flipping open the magazine and pretending to be interested. 

Hajime watched her for a moment, before returning to his book, and slowly time passed. 

_ DING DONG BING BONG! _

An announcement suddenly sounded throughout the room, allowing Hajime and (name)’s head to turn to the monitor. The black screen lit up, and Monokuma’s face appeared. 

_ “Alright, alright, alright! I’m just guzzling with excitement! It’sssssss time to party! Oh, hurry to the 2nd floor lounge! Chop, chop! BYOD! Get it? Bring Your Own Despair!”  _ The screen fell black again, and a low sigh escaped (name). 

That anxiety she kept feeling skyrocketed. 

“Well, it looks like we don’t have a choice.” Hajime sighed, standing up from his chair. (name)’s eyes fell to the table, hesitating to move. 

“I have a bad feeling about this.” (name) spoke low, eyebrows twisted in concern. It lifted when she felt a hand on her shoulder, and looking up she met Hajime’s red/green eyes. He gave her a confident smile that lifted her heart. 

“Don’t worry. Everything will be alright.” He held out a hand to her. 

But she knew that was a lie. Her intuition was screaming at her, telling her that nothing good could come from this, but wanting to believe Hajime, she shoved those feelings deep in her, and with a small smile, took his hand.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ooh ooh, party time! 
> 
> new floor, and free time with hajime, mikan, and fuyuhiko. i'm like just now noticing there's a lot of hand holding, but I'm not even mad about it so expect even more hand holding! 
> 
> anyway, sorry for the late updates, been super busy but im slowly catching up again, hehe! 
> 
> have a beautiful day!


	11. 10

“This better not be a waste of time.” Gundham grumbled under his breath as the group walked together to the third floor lounge. 

“Maybe it'll be fun! I have read much about parties! Apparently there is a lot of alcohol and physical contact.” Sonia said with a happy smile from her vast knowledge of parties. 

“You bet there is!” Kazuichi seemed to slide over towards Sonia, putting his arms over her shoulders, until Fuyuhiko pulled him off by the collar and held him out to Nekomaru. 

“Hey, you little sleazeball! We are only here for this stupid party because we have to come! Don't lose your cool.” Fuyuhiko scolded while Kazuichi pouted, as Nekomaru held him by his collar. 

“Okay, we're here.” Nagito spoke, as he stepped towards the door, reaching for the door.

“Wait.” Chiaki called out, halting everyone. 

“What's wrong, Chiaki?” (name) asked.

“If we go in there, there's a good chance that someone is going to die. So let's make a rule.”

“A rule? Like what?” Hiyoko questioned, wagging her hands dramatically.

“That no one eats or drinks anything.” Chiaki suggested, allowing hints of surprise to spread through the room.

“We can't eat?! How am I supposed to live like that?!” Akane shouted devastatingly. 

“Akane, if you eat, it might be the last meal that you eat. Do you really want that?” Chiaki’s question seemed to silent her.

“Ughhh, fine. But I don't like it one bit!” Akane said as a dramatic tear beaded up on her eye. 

“Is everyone in agreement?” Chiaki looked with determined eyes. Everyone seemed to nod in agreement. 

“Welcome! Are you ready to get this paarrr-taaayyy started?!” Monokuma beamed as he burst through the door. They inwardly groaned, entering the lounge one by one. 

—

Monokuma rearranged the room—moving the tables and seats to the corners of the room, allowing a lot of space. He pushed the large tables and piled it up with heaping amounts of food—all steaming and their delicious fumes filling the room. The room was fairly dark, however was lit up with the many strobes lights flashing about and lighting up the room fairly.There was also another room with many arcade games, which Chiaki gladfully ran to, along with Sonia, Gundham and Kazuichi. 

“Aw, man! Look at that food!” Akane drooled as she crept closer, causing Nekomaru to grab onto her collar and dragged her away.

“We have games and food and drinks! Go on, help yourself! Help yourself!” Monokuma urged Hajime, pushing him a giant plate of food, as he kept refusing. The others stood there, seemingly bored with the party. Monokuma seemed to notice, and decided to fix it. 

“Hey (name)! I know what you're thinking!” Monokuma suddenly beamed, startling her as he popped up right next to her.

“You can't possibly know what I’m thinking.” She deadpanned, lifting an eyebrow curiously.

“You're thinking, “Oh, this party is so dreadfully despairingly boring! I wish Monokuma would give us something fun to do!” He said as he mocked her in a sad attempt at (name)’s voice. 

“Hmph. Not exactly, but that was pretty close.” She shrugged. 

“What do you have in mind?” Nagito said, leaning in closer to (name) to engage in the conversation. 

“Bullshit!” Monokuma yelled as he whipped playing cards out of nowhere. He urged them to sit in a circle and split the deck out between Nagito, Hajime, (name), Peko, Hiyoko, Mikan, Nekomaru, Fuyuhiko, and Akane. 

“BS, huh? I'm down.” Fuyuhiko said with a slight smirk. 

“Getting a little cocky there, aren't you? I'll be the one winning.” (name) said with a knowing smirk, causing an aggressive grin to form on Fuyuhiko’s face. 

“Oh yeah? We’ll see about that.” 

“Well, what if I win?” Nekomaru said with a loud chuckle. 

(name) and Fuyuhiko both turned to him with slight glares. “Doubt it.” They replied at the same time and started the game. 

Hiyoko and Mikan were a bit confused at how the game worked, but soon got it and the game really started. 

“One ace.” (name) started. 

“Two 2’s.” Akane went next. (name) was particularly good at games like this—studying people and how they think and their next moves made games like this amusing event. 

“BS.” (name) said, causing Akane to grumble under her breath and take back the stack of cards. The thing that made (name) so good at this game, was that she used her talent. It wasn't really cheating—she couldn't help it. She could tell someone's nervous ticks, and body language and posture that told her if they were lying. Being the Ultimate Mentalist had its perks. 

“One 3.” Nekomaru put down his card. 

“One 4.” Nagito said with a smile on his face. Hiyoko quickly called BS on him, causing him to pout slightly. 

“It seems I’m not doing very well at this game.” He said with a nervous chuckle that made (name) giggle. 

“Two 5’s.” Hajime put down his cards, looking up at Fuyuhiko. 

“Bullshit!” Akane blurted out, resulting in Hajime sighing in defeat and taking his cards back. 

“Akane can totally call that since she has the whole deck.” Hiyoko said, making everyone laugh except Akane. 

“Hey, I'll get better someday!” Akane said, defending herself. 

The game went on like that, everyone laughing and having a good time. (name) wished that everyone was still together so they could play in a big group. If only they weren't in this killing game. 

—

The game ended with (name) the winner, as she got rid of her cards the fastest. Fuyuhiko, who was very upset about this, called for a rematch. 

“This time we are playing spoons! And no one will fucking beat me at that game.” Fuyuhiko claimed, causing (name) to roll her eyes playfully. 

“Whatever, Fuyuhiko. I'm still gonna win.” Amidst their squabble, Peko stood and was starting to leave until Hajime stopped her. 

“Are you leaving Peko?” 

“I am going to see the arcade games that they have.” Peko answered. 

“Come back if you wanna play some more!” (name) called out, and began her game with Fuyuhiko. 

“I need to go to the restroom. My tummy’s not feeling good.” Hiyoko blurted out, rubbing her tummy like a little girl would. 

“Huh?! Your stomach is h-hurting? L-let me help!” Mikan said frantically, as she dragged Hiyoko to the bathroom. 

Hajime turned to Nekomaru, Akane and Nagito, “You guys want to go see the arcade games?” Which they agreed and walked away, leaving (name) and Fuyuhiko to their game, who were completely oblivious that anyone had left anyway. 

—

“Yes! I win again!” (name) cheered as Fuyuhiko cursed under his breath. 

“How are you so good at that game?!” He burst with anger and annoyance, and all (name) did was smile and wink at him. 

“Hey, where did everyone go?” (name) questioned, finally looking around and noticing that it was only her and Fuyuhiko in the bigger room. 

“They went to the arcade room a while ago.” 

“Oh. Well let's go join them!” (name) said as she got up and headed to the arcade room, with Fuyuhiko following. 

There were many arcade machines, row by row. The place was pretty dark too, and in front of one machine was all of their friends, hovering over each other. Oddly they were just standing there, not talking or moving, just looking towards a single arcade machine. 

“Hey guys! How's the game going?” She was greeted with silence. 

“Hellooo? You guys?” Silence once again. Dread coursed through her body, and that anxiety she had felt shot through her body and left her cold. She took a step forward, tapping Nekomaru’s back. 

The feeling of the room was odd—completely  _ off _ , she could usually feel the mix of emotions darting about in the room, but here she couldn’t feel anything, only a certain blonde concern and confusion emulating from behind her. 

“Nekomaru?” She muttered quietly, and he turned, slowly. 

“(name)! Get back!” Fuyuhiko suddenly called out, startling her.

“What?” She turned towards Fuyuhiko, and turned back quickly, but once she turned again, A large hand had wrapped around her throat. Nekomaru had grabbed her by her neck and with his strength raised her from the ground. She could feel his hands squeezing against her throat, cutting off air as she gripped onto his hands, trying to release the pressure. 

“N-Neko...m-maru!” She squeaked out, looking at him with pleading, desperate eyes. Her vision was beginning to blur, tears beading up from the pain. She looked into his eyes and saw a confused dull look, almost black and white, swirling and mixing around together in a crude way that frightened her and shook her to her core. 

Glancing at the others and she saw that they all had that same look in their eyes. Her heart raced in terror, struggling to breath as choked sounds escaped her. Black dots were filling her vision, and she could feel her eyes drifting upward. 

“H...H-hi...ko…” She barely managed to expel a calling plea. Just before darkness filled her vision, she heard a harsh grunt, and felt herself jerk forward in Nekomaru’s hands before she felt the tightness release, and felt herself falling. She was then caught by Fuyuhiko, who carried her outside of the arcade room, and shut the door quickly. 

She began a coughing fit, rubbing her neck that was already leaving a dark, scary bruise around her neck. Her head pounded and her throat burned, as she tried to take in as much air as she could.

“Are you okay?! That bastard! I'll kill him!” Fuyuhiko gritted through his teeth, as he placed a hand on her back trying to comfort her. 

“N-no, F-Fuyuhiko! Something’s… wrong.” (name) breathed out, gritting her teeth. 

“What do you mean?” He was even more shocked than she was.

“They all… had the s-same look in their eyes. I think they might have been—” Then suddenly, the door pounded harshly, causing the two to jump. The pounding was heavy and harsh, and (name) knew it was only going to be a matter of time before that door was knocked out of its hinges. 

“What are we gonna do?!” (name) asked hurried, heart pounding rapidly as they both stood, backing away from the door. 

“We gotta run!” Fuyuhiko said as he stood cautiously, watching the door. 

“Run? You  _ do  _ know that Nekomaru and Akane are in there, right?!” The pounding got louder and harsher—now each hit creating dents in it, as the pounding kept coming. Then suddenly, it stopped. With a loud  _ BAM _ , the door flew off the hinges, landing in front of the two, whose faces went pale. 

“Run!” They shouted at the same time, and they both took off, running out of the party room and down the hallway. Having a bit of a headstart from the others, Fuyuhiko grasped (name)’s hand and he dove into a classroom, shutting the door as quietly as he could. 

Their breaths were ragged and hurried, as they sank to the floor, spotting the shadows darting across the floor and through the window of the room. 

“We can’t hide here! It’ll be a matter of time until they find us.” (name) whispered, feeling nervous sweat beading on her forehead. Fuyuhiko nodded absently, eyeing the disappearing shadows and the footsteps that continued to recede down the hallway. 

“I know! We gotta think.” He replied in the same frantic rushed tone, whispering.

“We need to find Hiyoko and Mikan. They could be in danger.” (name) insitutated, and Fuyuhiko nodded with her, eyeing the small window. 

“Hiyoko wasn’t feeling good, right?” 

“So—maybe they're in the infirmary?” (name) deduced before eyeing the door. She slowly rose from her crouched position, just barely peeking over the door to see Hajime pass by. “We gotta sneak by them. The stairs are all the way down the hallway.” 

Fuyuhiko rose to her height, peering through the window and reaching for the door handle. 

“Wait!” (name) suddenly stopped him, grabbing onto his wrist and letting out a shaky breath. “This is all just a prank, right? We’ll be okay, right?” 

Fuyuhiko’s gold eyes locked with hers, and a flimsy smirk grew on his face. “Yeah—they’re just…fuckin’ with us. It’s all a big joke.” His whisper escaped as a small chuckle, and she let out a huff of amusement. 

His expression was all she needed, easing some of her raging nerves. He grabbed her hand, cupping it tightly before sending her an affirmation nod that she returned, then as quietly as possible, he turned the knob.

Thankfully the door failed to creak loud enough to draw attention, and the two stuck their heads out of the hallway, spotting Hajime turn the corner and disappear from view. They took this as their chance and quickly crept down the hallway, heading for the stairs. (name) looked around hastily, with her heart hammering loudly in her chest it echoed to her ears. About halfway down the hallway, they neared the pool. 

Footsteps sounded in front of them, approaching closer. (name) inhaled a yelp that built in her throat, tugging Fuyuhiko’s hand and opening the door that led to the pool. Unfortunately, the door did creak audibly louder causing (name) to panic. In front of them was the entrance, with two doors—one leading to the girls and one leading to the boy locker rooms. A flurry of footsteps were approaching from behind. 

“I think it’s against the rules to go through opposite doors. Let’s meet at the pool!” (name) whisper-shouted, before they both dashed through their respective doors. 

(name) dashed into the girl’s locker room, almost making a beeline for the door that led to the pool before she could hear footsteps from beyond the swinging door, stopping her in her tracks. Her eyes fell to a large basket of clean towels, and ducked behind it—throwing a couple towels on her head to disguise herself as she hid, and when the swinging door squeaked open, she held her breath. 

The footsteps were rapid, darting into the locker room before stopping. She could hear the ragged breathing of the person, making an inference that it was Akane. (name) carefully placed a hand over her mouth to hide the frightened breath that was escaping her when Akane’s footsteps were dangerously close, and she knew that Akane was standing just in front of the laundry basket. 

(name) thought of making a break for it, but she froze when a loud slam was heard from the entrance of the locker rooms, and she listened as Akane’s footsteps dashed away, getting quieter the further she left, and she didn’t move until she heard that door open then close. 

She moved from her spot, eyes darting towards the door to make sure that no one else joined her. 

“(name)?” A whisper sounded from beyond the door, and she moved quickly to open it to see Fuyuhiko. She released the shaky breath that she had been holding, smiling just a tad. “Akane didn’t see you, right?” 

“No.” She then realized who caused the loud noise. “Thanks.” 

“Come on. The spa is connected here, right? We’ll leave through there. ” Fuyuhiko urged, and the two crept away. Entering the spa room, and spotting the door that led to the hallway from the spa. They crept down the hall, and she almost released a sigh of relief when they reached the stairs, climbing up. 

“ _ Aghhhh!”  _ A loud shout shot down the hall, causing a rough shudder to shake her body. As her head turned, she locked with the dazed set of eyes of Nekomaru, and soon, at an inhuman speed, the others popped into view, sprinting to the stairs. 

Her eyes grew in horror. “Gogogo!” Her voice trembled as she shouted, shooting up the stairs and reaching for Fuyuhiko’s hand and taking off in a sprint, pulling him with her up to the 3rd floor. Racing down the hall, only turning her head to see Akane right on their tail, only a feet behind. Finally reaching the door to the infirmary and pulling it open with vigor, only to freeze completely.

The feeling of tiredness and anxiety was replaced by pure shock and dread, collapsed with fear and confusion. (name)’s eyes were wide with fear, as Fuyuhiko seemed to turn pale. 

In front of them was Hiyoko and Mikan, dead on the floor. Hiyoko had blood pouring from her mouth, while Mikan had a rope tied tight against her neck, as if she had been choked. 

“F-Fuyuhiko…” (name) whimpered, eyeing the dead bodies that so horribly laid on the floor. The flurry of footsteps sounded behind them, as (name) and Fuyuhiko turned, backing up into the infirmary cautiously. Nekomaru entered first menacingly, with the others still trapped in their terrible daze. Then, oddly, he blinked, then rapidly again, and that daze disappeared, and his pale orange eyes returned. The others had the same reaction, blinking before that despairing swirl faded from their eyes, filling with color as their faces turned with confusion. 

“Huh? What the—” Nekomaru muttered. 

“ _ WaaaaAghhhh!”  _ Kazuichi’s sharp scream sounded as his eyes fell to their two classmates, and soon the entire room had that reaction as that deep realization settled. 

_ It was full of despair. Over and over and over again. A never-ending cycle.  _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> any party is great until you almost get choked to death by your friend heeheh 
> 
> more hand holding--i just enjoy it too much, and yes, you're welcome. 
> 
> you know the drill-- investigation, then class trial. Who was the blackened this time? Stay tuned to find out! 
> 
> -me


	12. 11

_DING DONG BING BONG!_

_“A body has been discovered! After some time, a class trial will begin! So hurry and find some clues!”_ The dreaded happiness in Monokuma’s voice sent chills down (name)’s spine, as his voice echoed through the monitors of the plane. Everyone seemingly snapped out of their faze that they were in—dull expressions turning into fits of confusion, bewilderment, and harsh dread. 

“Wha? What the hell happened?!” Akane burst out first, just as confused as everyone. 

“Nyo-hohohoho!” Monokuma burst with excitement, appearing in front of the group of teenagers, chuckling. “You were all brainwashed! Let's call it: Brainwash X!” Monokuma's beamed out.

“B-brainwashed?” (name) whispered in a quiet murmur. It made sense—their terrifying calm expressions along with the strange look in their eyes—she had seen a variation of it within some techniques she learned of hypnosis, but this time it was much more intense. Much more horrifying. 

“How come they snapped out of it all of a sudden?” Fuyuhiko questioned, as Monokuma’s grin only got wider.

“The brainwashing goes away with the sight of blood! And since poor, poor Hiyoko is just leaking that despairful goo, you could say she helped you!” Monokuma explained, paws grasping his stomach as he cackled loudly. 

(name)’s heart was still beating wildly with anxiety and fear, and subconsciously her hand reached her neck, still feeling the muscles beneath her skin throbbing. 

Fuyuhiko noticed her movements, reaching out to put a hand on her shoulder. “Don't rub it. We should get you something for the bruising.” He spoke in a comforting tone. 

“Oh my goodness! What on earth happened to you?” Sonia exclaimed with concern, causing everyone’s attention to soon fall to her bruising neck. 

(name) inwardly panicked.“It's nothing. For now, we need to focus on—” She tried to distract the topic to a more important matter ahead of them, but she was cut off. 

“It's nothing? IT’S NOTHING?!” Monokuma screeched, interrupting her. “Big Man Nekoneko could've killed you, you silly girl! And you say _it’s nothing?_ Although, that would've been pretty despairful to see.” He finished, and an inaudible sigh escaped (name). 

“M-me? I-I did that?” Nekomaru was shocked, eyes widening. His shock spread through the room.

“Nekomaru, you didn't have control of yourself. None of you did!” (name) announced, causing Monokuma to chuckle under his breath. 

“Aaaaactually, he did. Brainwash X only really brings out the anger in someone, and the fact that he took out the anger on you, choking your tiny little neck, was just too much for him to resist. He couldn't help himself—he wanted to kill you. Upupu…” Monokuma giggled and he disappeared, as if he was never there. 

(name) swallowed her lump of spit that was stuck in her throat, feeling a cold sweat creep onto her forehead. She turned to Nekomaru, who was looking at his hands with shame.

She walked forward, and grabbed his hands. “Nekomaru. Don't take it to heart. You were brainwashed. There was nothing anyone could do.” She looked around at everyone else, whose faces were turned downward. Their faces were pale, but (name) could feel their inner turmoil racing harshly through them.

“Please, don’t worry about me. Right now, Mikan and Hiyoko need us. It’s the least we can do—find the truth, and to preserve their memory.” (name) smiled, trying to prove to everyone that everything would be okay. She wasn’t sure what it was—perhaps her gentle tone, or maybe that smile that she had perfected, but slowly, she watched their heads raise, with small determined smiles of their own. 

“You're right. If we stay together, we'll be able to accomplish anything, just like before **.** ” Hajime said with a small smile. (name) nodded. 

“I certainly do not like this situation one bit. But if we work together, we will not let anyone down!” Sonia said, with a pleasant smile on her face, encouraging Kazuichi and the others. 

“Alright. Let's get started. For Hiyoko and Mikan and the others.” Chiaki said with a sweet smile, as they all turned towards the bodies with determination. 

**INVESTIGATION TIME**

(name) put her hand in her pocket and whipped out the Monokuma file. 

**VICTIM: HIYOKO SAIONJI**

**CAUSE OF DEATH: POISON**

**LOCATION OF DEATH: INFIRMARY**

**THE VICTIM IS SEEN WITH BLOOD FLOWING FROM THE MOUTH, CAUSED BY INTERNAL BLEEDING OF POISON.**

**EFFECTS OF POISON TAKE PLACE IN THE SPAN OF THREE MINUTES.**

The Monokuma file chimed as the second file came in.

**VICTIM: MIKAN TSUMIKI**

**LOCATION OF DEATH: INFIRMARY**

**THE VICTIM IS FOUND WITH A PRESCRIPTION BOTTLE LODGED IN THE THROAT, CAUSING SHORTAGE OF BREATH. REMNANTS OF POISON ARE FOUND IN BODY.**

“Someone shoved a bottle down Mikan’s throat? Damn…” Kazuichi said as he read the report.

“Who would do such a cruel thing?” Sonia said as tiny balls of tears beaded up on her eyes. 

“Such despair…” Nagito sighed, as he shook his head in disappointment. 

“Well, there's no use standing around here. Let's start looking.” Chiaki proclaimed, moving to Mikan’s body. (name) with a shaky resolve, walked over to Mikan’s body. 

As she knelt down, her heart twisted in a painful sadness. Seeing Mikan like this—(name) had just seen her. They were just enjoying a movie only a few hours ago. Mikan had a new resolve. She was going to be more confident in herself—(name) had encouraged her to do it, and now she was dead. (name) could feel the tears welling in her eyes.

She felt a gentle hand on her back, turning to meet eyes with Chiaki. The gamer gave her a small smile, rubbing her back comfortingly. “Are you ready?” 

Chiaki’s question was strangely all (name) needed. Her eyes darted between Chiaki’s pink ones, and could feel the solace in her eyes and a small smile replaced her frown. (name) nodded, wiping away the buds of tears. “Let’s do this.” 

The first thing that (name) noticed was the thick bruises going across her neck. They were purple and blotchy, and looked like the bruises that (name) shared on her own neck. She stared closer, only that the bruises went around her neck, and suddenly cut off with a small portion in the back. (name) tilted her head, studying Mikan’s expression. Her eyes were wide, filled in a frozen terror that made (name)’s heart lunge. Reaching out, her fingertips softly closed Mikan’s eyelids. 

“The bruising on her neck—it looks like she was strangled.” Chiaki spoke, earning a nod with (name). 

“That’s what I’m thinking. Let’s look at Hiyoko.” (name) initiated and the two girls scooted over to Hiyoko’s lifeless body. 

Hiyoko’s body was in a completely different state than Mikan’s. She was pale, tittering on the side of blue, with a small amount of blood that had oozed from her mouth. Hiyoko was laying on the ground, facing Mikan with a similar expression of fear on her face. 

“It looks like Hiyoko was poisoned.” Chiaki mumbled, as she was staring intensely at the corpse. 

“Yup, looks like it.” (name) replied, disappointment laced in her voice. She lowered herself to get a closer look, then spotting the thin line going around both of her wrists. “Is this a bruise too?”

“Hey, (name), take a look at this.” Chiaki spoke up as she was kneeled down to Hiyoko's level. (name) followed to where she was pointing, spotting something white just under Hiyoko’s hand. 

Chiaki reached and grabbed it, and it was indeed a small note. She opened it as (name) leaned in closer to take a look as well. It was partly ripped at the corner, leaving the rest of the note intact. 

The note read this: 

_I feel terrible for what I’ve done. I didn't think I was capable of doing it, but I did. I can't forgive myself. I can't. I can't._

_Someone, --ea-e sa-e me._

_-Hiyoko_

(name) shuddered from reading the contents of the note, and scrunched her eyebrows. 

“Hey, what’s that?” Kazuichi inquired from behind the two, leaning closer to see what they were looking at. 

“It's… a suicide note from Hiyoko.” 

“A suicide note?!” Kazuichi screeched, alerting everyone in the room. 

“What does it say?” Fuyuhiko asked urgently. (name) read the contents of the note aloud, causing everyone to feel the same thing she was feeling. 

“THIS IS ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE!!!” Nekomaru boomed, sweat catching up to him as it dripped down his forehead. 

“But this last part… I can’t read it. It’s smudged out.” (name) sighed with frustration. 

“It’s okay, (name). Hold onto it for now until the trial.” Chiaki said calmly. The two stood from the bodies, having finished what they needed. 

“Fuyuhiko and I are gonna look in their rooms for any clues.” Hajime announced, before the two headed out of the infirmary. 

“Oh! I will try and find something that could help with any medical uses. Please excuse me.” Sonia offered.

“Please, let me join you.” Peko suggested as well, and the two left the infirmary. 

“My Four Dark Devas and I will snuff out the culprit. Using the incredible gifts bestowed on me, the killer will not escape me!” Gundham boomed, with the Dark Devas joining him on his shoulder, before he stalked out of the room.

“Me and Coach will stand guard outside! I know that I ain’t gonna be much help, so I’ll use my muscles instead!” Akane grinned, cracking her fingers in intimidation. 

“That’s right! Leave security to us!” Nekomaru flashed a thumbs-up, before the two headed outside. 

“Miss (name) and Miss Chiaki!” Kazuichi approached Chiaki and (name), holding something up from his hand. 

“What is it?” Chiaki questioned, as Kazuichi puffed out his chest proudly, holding something out for the two to see. 

“Look what I found! Pretty good, right?” In his hand was a black pen. (name) stared for a moment, before taking the pen and studying it, allowing for Chiaki to see. 

“Where did you find it, Kazu?” (name) sought, rolling the pen over to find a small mark. Running down the middle of the pen was the emblem of what she could tell was a dragon—it’s body filled in with white. 

“I found it by Hiyoko’s back on the floor.” 

(name) had a sneaking suspicion of the owner of the pen, with her eyes glancing at Chiaki, who had the same exchange. 

“So? I did good, right?” Kazuchi seeked praise, arms crossing behind his beanie as he grinned. (name) smiled, and nodded. 

“You did great, Kazu. Let us know if you find anything else, okay?” (name) answered sweetly, not failing to notice the bright pink blush that grew on his face as he nodded frantically, before hurrying and raced around the room, looking for more clues. 

“We should check the bottles.” Chiaki initiated, flipping her hood on and (name) agreed, as they made their way over to the cabinet. The cabinet was mostly untouched, all of the bottoms lined up in an extremely neat and tidy way. No bottle was out of place, yet (name) could tell that one of the bottles was missing. 

“One of them is missing.” Chiaki recorded.

“If Hiyoko was poisoned, then the missing bottle would be the poison, right?” (name) offered the suggestion, to which Chiaki nodded to. 

“Yeah, that seems right.” 

“It makes me wonder. If Hiyoko was poisoned, wouldn’t the bottle be somewhere near her?” (name) proposed, and Chiaki’s finger rose to tap her chin as she pondered an answer. 

“Hmm. Maybe it _is_ near Hiyoko. We should check their bodies again.” Chiaki prompted, and they began walking back to the bodies. But just as they reached them, Nagito jumped in front of them with a familiar yet uncomfortable smile on his face. 

“Hey there! How’s it going, you two?” 

(name) allowed a small smile to join his enthusiasm. “How’s it going for you, Nagito?” 

“I think I’ve came up with a reasonable theory!” He reached out, grabbing (name)’s hand with one hand and Chiaki’s with his other, before escorting them to the bodies. “It looks like Hiyoko killed Mikan, and then felt guilty about it and killed herself.” Nagito said with what sounded like disappointment. 

“Hmm… It would make sense.” Chiaki nodded, eyes closed. 

“Yeah, but…” (name) spoke up, but scrunched her brows, looked down at Hiyoko’s body and shook her head with skepticism. “Something’s not right.”

“Oh? Does our amazing Ultimate Mentalist have an idea?” Nagito’s head tilted to the side like a curious child. 

“I think I do—maybe, well, I’m not totally sure.” (name) answered honestly. 

The door to the infirmary opened, and in came everyone who had left. They recapped—Fuyuhiko and Hajime didn’t find anything of note. Sonia and Peko looked through some medical textbooks, mentally noting anything that might be important for the case. Gundham was unable to use his “powers” to unmask the culprit, and since everyone had returned to the infirmary, Akane and Nekomaru joined inside. 

“Tick tock, the bell is about to drop!” Kurokuma popped up suddenly, along with an agitated Shirokuma. 

“Tick tock?” Fuyuhiko questioned. 

“It seems we are almost out of time.” Sonia answered. 

“There’s still something we have to check.” Chiaki cleared, walking over to Mikan’s body, lowering herself on the ground. 

“What do you need to check?” Hajime’s eyes followed Chiaki’s, as Chiaki motioned for (name) to come closer. 

“We need to get the bottle from Mikan’s throat.” Chiaki answered. 

“ _Whaaaaaaat?!”_ Kazuichi and Nekomaru screamed simultaneously, almost shaking the room itself. 

“T-that’s—” Fuyuhiko stuttered, face growing pale. 

“That’s gonna be pretty gross. How are ya gonna get it out?” Akane grimaced.

(name) took a closer look at Mikan, eyeing her open mouth. “I don’t think it’s that far down. Monokuma!” She called out, and not a moment later, she heard the cackling of the bear. 

“Your teacher is here, kiddos!” He wormed his way to Mikan’s body, grinning. “What would you like to ask? Make sure you say it nice and loud for the rest of the class!” 

“We need to get the bottle in Mikan’s throat.” Chiaki answered rather bluntly, catching Monokuma off-guard. 

“Whawhawha? Now why would I do that?” 

“It would make for an interesting case if we had it, don’t you think?” Nagito swooned, knowing full well what Monokuma’s reaction would be. 

“Hmmmm. Well, if you say so! Please allow me!” Monokuma cheered happily. “Kuro! Shiro! I need a retractor and forceps, stat!” 

“Yes, doctor!” Shirokuma and Kurokuma shouted. Monokuma was soon fitted in a surgeon’s gown—moving Mikan’s body on an operating table. Monokuma shouted an abundance of orders at his two nurses, but before long, the bottle had been extracted from Mikan’s throat. 

“Here you go! One bottle, specially despairingly ordered!” He shoved the bottle into Chiaki’s hand. She opened it, and (name) watched her eyes grow as she tipped the bottom upside down, and a small chunk of paper fluttered out. 

“That must be the poison bottle, don’t you think?” Nagito cleared. 

“A-Ah! Chiaki! You must wash your hands! Hurry!” Sonia shouted in concern.

“Ah, don’t you worry your pretty little head. I had it emptied and cleaned before our gamer opened it! Can’t have you all dying on me, then it wouldn’t be a fun killing game!” Monokuma reassured him in his own way. 

“So it should be okay.” Peko clarified. 

“That’s a note, right? What does it say?” Hajime questioned, as Chiaki unfolded it, reading over it’s contents. 

“It’s smudged…” Chiaki squinted at the words, cheeking puffing out as she fumbled on a few words. “...promise… you… remember… And that’s all I can make out.” 

“Puhuhuhuhu! Now that _that’s_ outta the way, let’s get this show on the road! Red door, red door! Come on, move it, people!” Monokuma suddenly chuckled, before Kurokuma and Shirokuma started to push them out of the infirmary, heading to the first floor, despite the yelling and protests. 

(name) sighed. Another day of questioning, and doubting her friends. She had to do something, she had to stop this. After this class trial, things were going to change, she could feel it. Flashes of red suddenly startled her, and she felt like she was being engulfed in another world. She did a good job putting up a front for her friends, but in the end, that’s all it was. A front. 

  
_I don’t know how much more I can take of this._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next up, class trial! do you know whodunit? 
> 
> find out next! 
> 
> also, hugeeee thanks for the kudos and the reads, i wasn't expecting that much so i really appreciate it! much love to ya! 
> 
> see you next time!
> 
> -me


	13. 12

The air in the class trial sent a cold shiver down (name)’s back, causing her to clench. The room was cold, most likely from the despair flowing through the room. Monokuma was up on his “throne” once again, with Shirokuma and Kurokuma as his knights. Everyone had the dreaded look on their face as they walked to their podiums.

“Hope you bastards are ready for more despair! I’ll go over the rules with you again, just for good measure.” He took a deep breath, and coughed to clear his throat as if an audience was watching him. “You will present arguments on whodunit! If you vote correctly, then only the blackened will be punished. Buuut, if you pick the wroooong person, then-”

“We know what happens, you fucking plush toy! Let’s get on with the trial!” Fuyuhiko burst out angrily, clearly pissed that we were stuck in this situation again. 

“Ouuuch! Looks like someone needs a good nap!” Monokuma retaliated back. 

“Let's just focus on the case.” Hajime proclaimed. 

“I agree. I think the first thing we should do is discuss what happened at the party.” Chiaki started. 

“All that I can recall is playing some card activities, and then it's all blank.” Sonia said, causing Kazuichi to nod. 

“That's all I remember too! I remember (name) and Fuyuhiko going at it!” Kazuichi blurted out, causing the two to get flustered.

“G-going at it?!” Fuyuhiko stuttered, pink flushed on his face. 

“Well, yeah! With the cards!” 

“O-oh right.” (name) said as her eyes fluttered to the floor.

“Um… What did you think I meant?” Kazuichi looked cautiously between the two. 

“Alright, alright! Movin’ on!” Akane burst, trying to keep the conversation going. (name) silently thanked her.“I remember watchin’ Chiaki playing the arcade game, but I don’t remember much after that.” 

“Because of Monokuma’s ‘Brainwash X’”, (name) grimaced, suddenly shivering. 

“Monokuma, may you please inform us of this Brainwash X?” Sonia politely asked the bear, who confided. 

“Weeelllll, since you so politely asked… Listen up, kids! It’s your teacher’s turn to talk!” Monokuma’s voice dropped an octave, as he suddenly had a ruler and a powerpoint slideshow. 

“Brainwash X is a collection of photos and images to morph your brain into feeling something either very hopeful, or beary beary bad! In this case, the X made you feel much wrath and hatefulness, which made you want to hurt our sweet (name) bear, and Fukifuki!” (name) could feel Nekomaru’s gaze shift to her. 

“Fuki...fuki…Is that supposed to be me?” Fuyuhiko muttered in reeling shock. 

“However, this X has a cure. Blood! Lots of blood! The sight of blood morphs your brain back to its original state.” Monokuma continued

“So the game that Chiaki was playing, was actually Brainwash X?” Nagito questioned. 

“That’s correct!” Monokuma beamed, his voice back to normal.

“I see… Well let’s continue. I say that we should figure out what killed Mikan and Hiyoko.” Peko suggested. 

“Yes, let us move on.” Gundham spoke, causing the others to nod.

“So it’s safe to assume that Hiyoko choked Mikan, and killed herself because she felt guilty.” Nekomaru offered, getting responses of yes and not-so-sure.

“That’s what I’m thinking too.” Kazuichi spoke.

“Yeah! I mean, it’s all said in Hiyoko’s note.” Akane agreed.

“But are you sure that’s what really happened?” Nagito’s smooth voice spoke, leveling the atmosphere of the room. 

“Huh? Whatcha tryna say?” Akane yelled suddenly, angry at Nagito's contradiction.

“I mean, sure, if you want to believe that Hiyoko killed Mikan and herself, then go ahead. But does that feel right to you?” He countered back, causing Akane to go quiet. 

“What do you mean?” Peko questioned.

“(name), read the last line of the note, please.” She knew where he was going with this. She pulled out the note and read the last line. 

_“Someone, --ea-e sa-e me!”_

“It’s hard to read, Nagito. But I think I know where you are going with this.” (name) as she held out the note for everyone to see. 

“What do you mean?” Fuyuhiko inquired, trying to figure out whatever Nagito and (name) saw.

“It’s not a real suicide note!” Hajime blurted out like he had been thinking about it over and over, as (name) nodded at him.

“What are ya talkin’ about?!” Akane yelled.

“WHAAAATTTTT?!” Nekomaru boomed. 

“This last part of the message is a message from Hiyoko _._ You can’t really read it because they are slightly wet, which I’m assuming are teardrops on the paper, probably because Hiyoko was crying and writing at the same time, causing her to smudge the words.” (name) explained, causing Nagito to speak up too.

“The first part of the suicide note was written by the killer.” 

“I think so. I mean, that makes sense.” (name) agreed. 

“So, if that’s the case, when did Hiyoko write that?” Kazuichi questioned, with a little tremor in his voice. 

“It must have been the moment before she died!” Sonia exclaimed, cheeks puffed out in confidence. 

“But wouldn’t the killer have seen her writing that and gotten rid of the note?” Fuyuhiko sighed with frustration. 

“Maybe they were too overwhelmed with Brainwash X that they didn’t notice!” Nekomaru provided a theory to which Nagito quickly shut down. 

“There’s no way the killer wouldn’t have seen that. That’s if—we are still assuming that Hiyoko was killed first.” Nagito sneered.

“It would seem the most likely. How else would it appear?” Gundham spoke, causing some disagreements and agreements.

“Yeah! Hiyoko is the one who died first!” Nekomaru roared.

“I have no clue what to think…” Kazuichi sighed in confusion. 

“But what if Mikan’s the one who died first?” Chiaki proposed, freezing the whole room as it became silent again. It was a statement that (name) could agree with. 

“Chiaki’s right. I mean, look how we found Mikan. She had a bottle lodged down her throat.” 

“Whatcha tryna say then?” Akane wanted to know as she yelled out with some irritation.

“I think the killer shoved the bottle down her throat, and Hiyoko watched. And maybe when the killer had their back turned, that’s when Hiyoko wrote that.” (name) stated, as mostly everyone looked shocked at the theory she had made. 

“How are you so sure?” Fuyuhiko challenged, and (name) turned to him with a sad, yet stern gaze.

“It’s just the looks on their faces. They were horrified—It just doesn’t make sense for Hiyoko to kill Mikan and herself when they were so scared to even fight back.”

“But she could’ve been injected with Injection X! If she was, then being scared after would make sense, right?” Kazuichi suggested, filling the room with confusion and tension. 

“During Injection X, you are completely aware of what you are doing. So wouldn't your initial emotion be more of guilt, than being scared?” Hajime insisted. 

Everyone grumbled as they were at a loss. The despair in the room reeked as they couldn't agree on a thing about this case. Then suddenly, Monokuma chimed in. 

“Come ooooonnn! I'm getting beary bored of this merry-go ride!” He screeched as he pulled out a ruler from somewhere, smacked it on the ground. 

“Everyone! Pull out your E-Handbooks! Now!” He suddenly commanded as he jumped up and down in his seat. 

“Will you shut the fuck up? Why do we have to pull our handbooks?” Fuyuhiko blurted irritatingly as he crossed his arms and glared at the bear. 

“We’re gonna play a little game! A game inside a game! Doesn't that sound exciting?!” The bear yelled out—his built-in smile seeming to get wider. 

“Ooh, games! I love games! I'm reaaaal good at games, little did you know! My favoritegameistheonewhereyouhavetothrowthoselittlepingpongballsintheredcupsand-!” Kurokuma suddenly spoke up, only to have Monokuma silence him by a hard kick in the face. 

“What shall we do?” Sonia asked, looking around slightly nervously at the rest of her friends. 

“Looks like he's not really giving us a choice. Let's just play and see what happens.” Chiaki spoke as she pulled out her handbook from her sweatshirt pocket. The others seemed to do the same. (name) turned the screen on, and all of her data about Mikan and Hiyoko was covered up by a program. The title of it was called, “Name the Thief!”, with a pixelazed, retro icon of Monokuma in the corner. 

“What is this?” Hajime asked Monokuma in confusion, who simply laughed before going into an explanation. 

He stated that the game, _Name the Thief! ,_ was a game where one person was the thief, and the rest of us have different jobs, but work in the same area. The thief, of course, has no idea where the rest of us are, and has to pretend that they know or else they will be named the thief. We were to ask each other questions, such as, “What color is the building I’m in?” or “Are they any animals in this place?” If they answer correctly, then it's obvious they aren't the thief. However, if a person answers wrong, the suspension of that person will go up. They have a time limit of 15 minutes, and by the end they have to pick the thief, and if they choose wrong, they lose and the thief goes free. If they choose correctly, they win. 

“Got it? Good! Nagito, you start first! The time starts now!” Monokuma slammed his paw down, and the game started. (name) looked down at her screen. It read, 

**YOU ARE NOT THE THIEF!**

**OCCUPATION: CORPORATE DIRECTOR**

**LOCATION: CORPORATE OFFICE**

She took a deep breath, and looked up to study everyone's faces. A few of them seemed calm, and the others a little nervous. She was determined to find out who the thief was, even if it was just a game. (name) had a suspicion that there was a reason for this game. She was interrupted with Nagito’s voice.

“(name). How much are you ranked in your job?” She looked up to him, who had a small smirk on his face, as if he was enjoying the game. 

“I would say… I'm ranked pretty highly.” She answered in a smooth voice, making sure no doubt was traced in her voice. It was her turn to ask a question. She looked around the room, and set her gaze to Kazuichi. 

“Kazuichi.” He jumped slightly at hearing his name. “Is this work setting loud and active, or more low key and quiet?” 

“U-uh hell if I know! I'm guessing more… low key?” She smiled towards him and looked away, careful not to give away any emotions that would tip the thief off. 

“So I guess it's my turn then, huh? Uh… Miss Sonia!” Kazuichi gazed around, settling on the princess.

“Yes?” 

“What are you wearing at your workplace?” He said with a bright blush on his face and slight drool dropped out of his mouth. Hajime rolled his eyes. 

“Well, I think I would be wearing one of my most beautiful dresses that I'd be tailored with.” She said sweetly, with a bright smile on her face. Kazuichi seemed slightly disappointed with her answer but smiled upon seeing her smile. 

“Ah! It would seem it is my turn. Chiaki!” Sonia turned to ask Chiaki. 

“Hm?” 

“How many people have attended your workplace?” 

“A decent amount.” Chiaki yawned before she answered, with her eyes closed. “Peko. If this workplace would have a party, what would you drink?” Peko was silent for the smallest moment before answering. 

“I’d have a grape soda.” Chiaki nodded at the answer and put her hood up. Peko looked around the room before her eyes landed on Akane, and picked her next.

“Akane. How much money do you make from this job?” 

Akane stuck a finger in her ear boredly as she answered. “I should be making bank! I still need money to help my little brothers, ya know…” She mumbled to herself as she yawned. 

“My turn, huh? Hey Baby Gangsta!” Akane called out to Fuyuhiko who glared.

“Stop calling me Baby Gangsta!” 

“How red is it in your workplace?” 

“Red? What kind of stupid question is that? It's not red! More like white or grey.” He grumbled. (name) smirked a little, and mentally crossed him off of her list. 

“Aye, Nekomaru!” Fuyuhiko called out to the manager. 

“What is it?!” The big man hollered, his eyebrows suddenly electrified with a giant grin.

“What kind of people do you see working at this workplace?” 

Nekomaru paused for a bit before answering. 

“Lots of people working individually to get a higher status!” He boomed and started laughing as he rubbed his head. (name)’s eyebrows lifted at the response, but she indeed crossed him off her mental list. 

The game went round and round like that, with a couple of silly questions with silly answers. One by one, (name) had been crossing people off of her mental list, until she was down to two people. Nagito and Peko. 

“(name).” Nagito’s voice brought her back to reality. _Okay, Suspect #1._ “Let’s say you walked into your workplace and in the middle of an empty hallway, you see a dead body. Let's call him Guy X. Guy X has a dark bruise around his neck. You call the police, and they say that Guy X died from cervical fracture and suffocation. They say it was suicide, but you think otherwise.” All of the classmates were now listening intently to Nagito’s question. “Soo… You take matters into your own hopeful hands. You knew it had to be someone from the workplace, since you need certain access to get in or else Guy X wouldn't be there. Now, let's see here…” He pondered to himself for a moment, and looked around the room. “Let's say that after investigating some other rooms nearby the crime scene, you find some rope near where Peko works, a lighter where Hajime works and a knife where Sonia works.” 

“I do not wish to be a part of this!” Sonia pleaded, as Nagito kept going.

“So naturally, you assume that one of those three has to be the killer. After you get a close inspection of the body while the police weren't looking, you realize who the killer is. My question is… Who killed Guy X?” (name) furrowed a brow at such a detailed question. No, it was more like a riddle. She thought back carefully to every detail that Nagito gave her. 

“30 seconds leffftttt!” Monokuma’s overly excited voice chimed in. 

“If Guy X died from cervical fracture and suffocation, but was found in an empty hallway with no one around…” She mumbled to herself as she thought of every possible situation. But as she was thinking of the answer to Nagito’s riddle, something had occurred in her head. She knew that the obvious answer had to have been the rope near Peko’s desk, but now that she was thinking about it, where was Peko during the ordeal of the party? Thinking back, as Fuyuhiko and (name) were sneaking around, she kept a vivid eye out. She never saw Peko, nor did she spot her in that brief moment that they were in the arcade room. 

(name)’s eyes widened. It clicked. She now knew the true intent of Monokuma’s game.

“Timeeeeeessssss uuupp!” He laughed, and then it clicked. The room was dead silent when (name) spoke the name. Almost too quiet.

“Peko. Peko is the one who killed Guy X.” A sinister smile that crept on Nagito’s face didn't go unnoticed by (name). 

“Me? Why would it be me?” Peko questioned, sounding slightly annoyed that she had been accused.

“Interesting… Why do you think so?” Nagito spoke up, so (name) elaborated.

“Well, I’m not a total expert on this and if Mikan was here she could clarify, but cervical fracture is where the neck gets broken by an instrument; in most cases, it's when a person hangs themselves. That leads me to think, _“Did he kill himself?”_ But he couldn't have, if he was found in an empty hallway with nothing to tie the rope to.” Her classmates listened intently, as Peko started to squirm just slightly.

“So if he did try to kill himself, wouldn’t he do it in a room where he is able to? That’s where Peko comes in.” (name) looked over at Peko, who was staring intently at her back. “There’s no one else who could’ve done it.” 

“I don’t get it.” Akane said with a questioning voice, as if asking them to get to the point. (name) held her hand out, still looking at Peko, as if to say she was getting there.

“It means… Peko.” She turned her attention to Peko, who had been listening intently to (name) speak. (name) had figured out the whole reason for the game they had to play, and she was hoping that Peko could give her the answer she was looking for.

“Peko, where are we?” She asked almost desperately.

“Uh oh! Is my dear sweet (name) saying that Peko is the thief?! Woooooow! I’m impressed!” Kurokuma blurted out, causing everyone to look at her.

“You have already decided?!” Gundham boomed with his loud voice. 

“B-but we haven’t discussed it yet?” Kazuichi yelled nervously, with cold sweat dripping down his face.

“(name)...” Chiaki said with her brows furrowed.

“Just… trust me here.” She looked towards everyone with a reassuring nod. “Peko, where are we?” She asked again, in a more serious tone this time. She watched as Peko hesitated, biting her lip just a tad.

“Please…” (name) begged, just hoping she would give her the right answer. The answer she wanted.

“I… I don’t know.” Peko answered quietly, as (name) dropped her head in defeat. Everyone was shocked to find out that Peko was the thief.

“Huuuh?! You’re the thief?!” Akane blurted, along with the other yellings things similar to that.

“Yooooooouuuuuu guessssed riiiggghhtttt!” Monokuma suddenly yelled. “The thief was Peko Pekoyama! Leave it to the Ultimate Mentalist to figure it out!” 

(name)’s face fell into a torrent of hurt, and her chest began to heave in a deep sorrow. 

“Hey… (name). What’s going on? Why do you look so down? It’s just a dumb game, right?” Fuyuhiko gave her a dead chuckle, sweat beading on his forehead. (name) could sense his anxiousness, and the rising dread in his body. She knew he knew that (name) had finally realized something. 

“Puhuhuhu! I think our (name) has figured something _beary_ important, hasn’t she?” Monokuma giggled, earning the attention of the room.

“Huh? You did, (name)?” Kazuichi jumped in.

“Really? From that borin’ game?” Akane crossed her arms. 

“Please, do tell us!” Sonia’s hands joined together with a small smile. 

“...Oh.” Chiaki released in one solid breath, turning the room completely silent. (name) knew that she had realized it as well. Finally, with a tight breath, (name) spoke. 

“Peko… You killed Mikan and Hiyoko, didn’t you?” She said quietly, not wanting to look into her eyes. Yet she did, (eye color) eyes meeting Peko’s red ones. Peko had a moment of weakness, a moment of complete freedom—and that was all (name) needed to see.

Peko was silent. 

“It couldn’t have been Peko! What are you talking about?!” Fuyuhiko quickly rebelled, defending his dear friend. 

“Yeah! What are you saying?” Kazuichi agreed with him, turning everyone to (name).

“The point of this game was to point us to the most suspicious person. It all makes sense if you think about it.” Chiaki explained, earning a nod from (name). 

“I see—and so if Peko was the thief, it’s not a far inference to assume she’s the killer as well.” Nagito added. 

(name) reached into her pocket, reaching and pulling out the pen. Holding it for everyone to see, she spoke. “Fuyuhiko—this is yours, right?” 

His eyes grew wide seeing the pen. “H-how did you—” 

“So it is.” Chiaki sounded. 

“And I assume you’re gonna say that you didn’t write the note, right?” Hajime questioned, as Fuyuhiko paled. 

“O-of course not!” 

“Has anyone else seen this pen before?” (name) asked the room, only to be met with negative head shakes. The only person who did not respond was Peko.

(name) nodded. “Peko, where were you during the party? You played cards with us, and then said you were going to see the arcade games. But did anyone see Peko in there?” 

“I don’t remember seeing her in there!” Akane said after a couple seconds of thought. 

“Yeah! Me either!” Nekomaru boomed while scratching the back of his neck. 

Hajime shook his head as Nagito agreed to not seeing her. 

“Peko, where did you go if you were not present in the arcade?” Sonia asked, with small tears in the corner of her eyes.

“I went back to my room. I simply did not appreciate the party scene.” She said simply and calmly, as if being accused of being the killer was not a big deal at all.

“We were all in the same place. How did you get by without anyone seeing?” (name)’s voice was quiet, eyebrows strewn together. Peko paused and before she could speak up, Fuyuhiko did.

“I did!” He blurted out, causing everyone to suddenly look over to him. Peko scrunched her brows together at Fuyuhiko’s sudden accusation.

“Fuyuhiko, what are you-” Peko tried but he interrupted. 

“I saw Peko, walking to her room.” Fuyuhiko claimed. (name) shook her head.

“Fuyuhiko, you couldn’t have possibly seen her.” She said sadly, despair almost hinting in her voice.

“Well, I did okay?!” He countered at (name), but doubt was clearly drawn on her face.

“We were playing cards that whole time until we got chased… When could you have seen her?” (name) questioned him, yet he kept persisting.

“When we were playing...I-I heard a door close. That had to have been Peko going to her room! Who else could it be?” Fuyuhiko’s stance diminished, suddenly blinking rapidly as he spoke. But (name) knew he was lying.

“Fuyuhiko… That’s impossible and you know it is.” (name) argued back.

“Besides, I don’t think you could’ve heard a door shut in the first place. I mean, we were on the 2nd floor with music playing, and the dorms are on the first floor.” Kazuichi repeated the facts, as (name) nodded towards him. 

“You guys are wrong! I saw-” Fuyuhiko was cut off by Peko once again.

“Young Master, please stop.” Those words seem to freeze the entire room—Fuyuhiko, especially. His skin went pale as cold sweat beaded up on his forehead.

“W-what?” He could barely speak as Peko continued.

“It was me. I did it. I am the one who killed Mikan and Hiyoko.” 

“Peko…” Chiaki spoke sadly.

“Please, I do not deserve sympathy.” She said as she kept talking. “Unbeknownst to you, I did have a drink at the party. After that, my mind clouded with… very evil thoughts. I was ready to dismiss it as a headache. That’s when I left and was going to find some medicine, hoping that would clear my mind. But…” 

“But in the infirmary, you saw Mikan and Hiyoko in the infirmary.” Hajime concluded and Peko nodded. 

“I saw them, and those terrible thoughts made me go blind. I tied up Hiyoko, then strangled Mikan first. After poisoning Hiyoko, I wrote the note with Young Master’s pen and left it near the floor, and while I… put the bottle where I thought no one would look for it, and removed the wire that I had tied around Hiyoko’s wrists. I left, but I was not aware that Hiyoko was still alive, as she had written on the suicide note.” 

“Ooookkaaayyyyy!!! It seems like you have your answer! Please pull the lever in front of you and cast your vote! Who will be chosen as the blackened? Will you pick the right choice? Or the dreadfully wroooong one?!” Monokuma chimed in, as (name) sighed and shut her eyes, hoping that this nightmare would just end. 

— 

“DING DING DING! YOU GOT IT! The one who killed the mousey Ultimate Nurse, and the obnoxious Ultimate Traditional Dancer, was **Peko Pekoyama!** ” Monokuma blared out, his red eye glowing even brighter than usual. 

“Peko…” Fuyuhiko whispered, in shock over what was happening. His eyes were wide and dull, as his face had a hint of blue to it. 

“(name), may I ask? What was it that made you realize?” Peko sounded, eyes trailed to the floor. 

(name)’s heart twisted in the most hurtful way, tears beginning to grow in her eyes. “The note inside the bottle.” Her voice was shaky as the tears rose to the surface. “I realized what it meant.”

“What did it mean?” Hajime asked, and Chiaki held out the note for her. (name) took it, looking at the paper. 

“My promise. Do you remember?” (name) read from the paper, even beneath the smudged letters and only then did Peko’s eyes rise, meeting (name)’s. Peko was smiling, and it seemed like just then, the strongest, largest weight had been lifted from her shoulders. 

“Please, do not lose faith because of me. You will all succeed, and move on in your life. I have nothing but the strongest resolve that you will all make it out, and live at peace as I now will.” Peko spoke towards the group, filling the room with a painful sadness. 

“P-peko…” Fuyuhiko muttered, eyes falling into a dull yellow. “W-wait.” 

“Alright! Alright! My favorite part of the show! Let’s give it everything we’ve got! _It’s Punishment timeeeeeee!_ _”_ Monokuma sang happily, as he started to dance over to Peko. She quickly walked over to (name) and grabbed her hands gently.

“Will you accept my request?” Peko gripped (name)’s hand tightly. 

(name) nodded, tears finally falling from her eyes, dancing down her cheek. 

“I’m relieved. I’m glad I was able to meet someone kind like you.” Peko released a gentle, relaxed sigh like it was the last worry she was holding onto. Peko let go of her hands, and walked over to Monokuma, before walking through the wooden door that would lead her to her death. 

Walking just past Fuyuhiko, Peko uttered two words to him. “Thank you.” 

Fuyuhiko’s eyes grew, and then could (name) see the truly shattering amount of pain gathered in his body, as he stood rigid. 

_I’ll do my best, Peko. Please, rest now._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> )))): some sadness, sorry about that haha
> 
> butttt after this, i got some goooood stuff coming up after this, so please stay tuned! 
> 
> have a great day! 
> 
> -me


	14. 13

_ DING DONG DONG DING!  _

_ “Rise and shine, you bastards! Wake up and have a great, despair-induced morning!”  _

Monokuma’s irritating voice screeched, waking (name) up. She cracked her eyes open barely before wincing at the bright light the sun had bestowed on her. She rose from her bed, with her hair messy from sleeping. She showered, put on her clothes, and fixed her hair. 

She walked out of the door, and headed to the dining hall to meet with the others. As expected, the remaining nine were present in the dining hall, sitting silently. However, Fuyuhiko and Nagito were not present. They barely spoke, only noise in the air was Akane, shovelling food into her with no manners at all. 

“(name)!” Sonia called out with a small smile and wave, earning the attention of her friends. (name) gave the Ultimate Princess a small smile as she made her way over to her, and sat down. Her classmates seemed to be dreary, as they sat at the table in silence. They weren’t the usual lively bunch they were, for reasons that made sense. 

“Let us enjoy this delicious food! It is quite good!” Sonia offered, popping a small strawberry in her mouth loudly, in an attempt to lighten up the mood and cheer everyone up. The room was still quiet, as Sonia sunk slightly in her chair. 

“Sorry, Miss Sonia. I think we don’t have much of an appetite.” Kazuichi muttered, playing with his beanie, stretching it forward, letting go, and repeating. 

“Even my Four Dark Devas of Destruction have not worked up an appetite.” Gundham mentioned, holding out his scarf so that his hamsters had space to run around. 

“Thanks anyway, Sonia.” (name) placed a gentle hand on Sonia’s shoulder, with a small yet grateful smile on her face. Sonia returned the gesture and nodded, and placed her hands into her lap. (name) leaned back in her chair, and closed her eyes silently. Only a couple of seconds later, a loud slam against the table made her jump; her heart racing from that startle. 

“No…! We can’t just sit here and mope around! Otherwise… Everyone’s death will be in vain!” It was Hajime—the green in his eyes glowing in determination as his ahoge stood tall. 

“Hajime…” (name) muttered in shock and awe. 

“How can we? This whole situation has gone to complete shit.” Kazuichi grumbled, looking down at the table, as Akane’s munching ceased at the other side of the table.

“Yeah… I’m not feeling hungry, anymore.” Akane muttered quietly, putting the big piece of meat she was eating down into her plate. 

“Looks like everyone is just down today… Sorry, Hajime.” Nekomaru spoke up from the other side of the table, his usually loud voice. Hajime seemed to shrink a bit, as (name) gazed tiredly at the ground. 

“No… You’re wrong!” A distinct voice spoke up, and when (name) looked up, she saw Chiaki standing with both of her hands on the table as her cheeks were puffed out. “We have to overcome this. Or else… everything we’ve done will be for nothing. Do you really want our friends to believe they died in vain?” She spoke, her eyes fierce. 

“W-well.. No but what else can we do?” (name) questioned, her voice shaky and unbalanced as Chiaki quickly countered her question.

“We don’t give up. We chose to believe in our friends until the very end, and we are going to keep doing that. Cuz… we can’t give up.” Chiaki’s speech seemed to spark some hope into the group, as one by one their faces lit up with hope. 

“YOU’RE RIGHT! WE CAN’T GIVE UP!” Nekomaru boomed, echoing through the room as Akane piped up as well. 

“Alright! I’m feeling fired up! I’m gonna stuff myself full!” She yelled admiringly as she began to gobble up the food at an unnatural speed. 

“Yes! I wholeheartedly agree! We mustn’t give up!” Sonia spoke with a sweet smile, as she pumped her arms up with motivation. 

“It would seem my Four Dark Devas of Destruction are most riled up! Very well! I, too, will share this enhanced energy!” Gundham also spoke, feeling motivated as well. It caused (name) to grin widely, as she looked towards Hajime and Chiaki. 

“You’re right. Thanks guys, I think we really needed that!” (name) smiled greatly, her cheeks turning a soft pink. Then a sudden thought popped into her head. “Oh, shouldn’t we get Nagito and Fuyuhiko, too?” 

“Nagito came by earlier, but he left in a hurry.” Kazuichi announced, shovelling some grapes in his mouth. 

“Then I’ll go get Fuyuhiko!” (name) started, standing before Hajime stopped her. 

“It might be better if you don’t right now. I tried to get him out of his room earlier, but he said he wasn’t hungry.” He advised. 

“Leave him alone for now, (name). Peko’s death hit him the hardest.” Chiaki added, as a sad sigh left (name), before she nodded and smiled. 

“Okay. I’ll check on him later. For now, let’s eat!” (name) smiled, sinking back into her seat to eat some breakfast. 

  
  


**FREE TIME**

After eating breakfast and heading to her room for a bit, she was feeling somewhat restless. Her anxiety hadn’t eased, yet she was feeling a little better than the past few days. 

_ Ding dong!  _

Her doorbell rang, snapping her out of her thoughts. She got up, heading for the door and opening it. 

“Ah! Thank you for opening your door to me—I’m truly honored.” 

“What’s up, Nagito?” 

She met his light green eyes that seemed to sparkle in excitement, raising his head from his small bow with a cunning smile. 

“I have a request, if you don’t mind.” He spoke smoothly. 

(name)’s eyebrows lifted slightly in anticipation, opening her door wider, gesturing for him to come in. “Sure, what is it?” 

“Oh, actually, I’d like to show you it.” Nagito shook his head at her silent offer, stepping back and indicating for her to follow. 

“Okay, where are we going?” 

“The second floor. Follow me.” Nagito chuckled, and (name) could tell he was excited by the way he bounced on the tips of his toes. She smiled at his enthusiasm, and followed him.

He led her to the second floor, moving to one of the spare rooms that had been left as an empty classroom. 

“A classroom? What did you want to do?” 

Nagito opened the door, and her eyes grew. The desks had been moved, earning a wide spot in the middle. In the spot, were two paint canvases atop of two separate easels. Besides the two easels were paint brushes, paint palettes, and paint separated into two neat piles. 

“Did you set this all up?” (name) asked with a smile, walking toward the easels. 

“I did. I’d like to paint with you—only if you want!” Nagito raised his hands in an odd defense. 

“I’d love to! I can’t promise I’ll make anything good, but I can try.” (name) reassured him, watching as he left out a sigh of relief. 

“I’m sure anything you make will be just as beautiful just as the hope that resides in your body.” Nagito started, and (name) grinned, and the two got to work. 

*

Indeed they got to work. (name) did not have much experience when it came to painting, but nonetheless she still had an enjoyable time. 

She smiled once she was done—eyeing a dark blue galaxy with white stars. The blending wasn’t great, but it wasn’t terrible either. 

“I’m all done. What do you thin—gah! Nagito! What happened?” 

She gasped when she finally noticed the fluffy haired boy—clothes and chunks of his hair decorated in all sorts of colors of paint. The only part of his body that wasn’t covered in paint was his face, freely showing his sheepish grin as he chuckled. 

“I’m not totally sure.” He chuckled, and (name) walked closer, eyes glossing over his body before her eyes moved to his canvas, and she paled.

“It’s…just black. But if it’s black, how did you get all that paint on you?” (name) spoke with wide eyes, turning to the boy who shrugged with a grin. 

“I guess I’m just unlucky.” Nagito answered nonchalantly, and after staring at him for a few more moments, she chuckled. 

“You sure are! But you know what would help?” (name) asked with a chuckle, and Nagito tilted his head in curiosity. (name) turned, grabbing a paint brush and dipping it into the red paint, before walking back over. She leaned in close to Nagito, enough to allow his eyes to grow as she swept the paintbrush against his cheek, drawing a heart. She stood back to gaze at it, before another chuckle escaped her. “Perfect!” 

“(name), there’s something I forgot to show you. It’s in my painting but you have to look closely.” Nagito spoke, earning some surprise with (name) who looked back to his solid black painting. She did as he said obliviously, leaning in close to his painting as he suggested, searching carefully for the thing he mentioned. 

She gasped when she felt a cool sensation along her cheek, backing away from the painting and reaching up to feel her cheek. Off came a vibrant green paint. 

The room was then filled with Nagito’s laughter, clutching his stomach as happy tears began to bead in his eyes. She wiped off the glob of paint, squishing it among his other cheek. 

“Nagito!” 

“I’m sorry but I couldn’t help it! The look on your face was what I needed.” He spoke in between his laughter, and (name) couldn’t help but smile too. 

“Sit down—I’ll help you get the paint out of your hair.” (name) teasingly pushed him, before she walked over to grab a few towels left on the ground. Nagito did as she suggested, sitting in a chair as she helped him clean out the globs of wet paint in his hair. 

“You really are a kind person, (name). What luck I have to meet someone like you.” Nagito spoke bluntly, a daydreamy smile smeared on his face as he gazed up at her. 

“We’re friends, aren’t we?” (name) smiled, swiping as much paint from his soft strands. “But I’ll be honest—you  _ are _ pretty strange, Nagito.” She remarked with sarcasm, only hearing his chuckle.

“Ah, but to hear that from you, it makes me happy.” 

(name) smiled at him, meeting his light green eyes before continuing her efforts. She opened her mouth to speak, but stopped when a rumble shook the floor of the plane, throwing her off. 

“Woah—that was weird. I haven’t felt much turbulence in awhile.” (name) commented after the rumble slowed. 

Nagito didn’t respond, only lowered his head slightly that she could no longer see his eyes, and it was then that she noticed that his shoulders were trembling. 

“Hey, are you okay?” 

“Y-yes… I’m still getting used to this. Sorry, you shouldn’t have to worry about someone like me.” Nagito spoke, raising his head with a shaky smile, skin paling. 

“It’s from your accident, huh? When you were little?” (name) spoke, knowing full well of Nagito’s situation, placing a comforting hand on his back. 

“Y-yeah, unfortunately. I’ve never been a fan of planes, but—” Then suddenly he went rigid. (name) frowned, seeing his sudden shift of emotion before he stood quickly. 

“Nagito? What’s wrong?” 

His smile crept onto his face, despite his sudden paleness. He turned to her, bowing slightly. “Sorry, there’s something I need to check up on.” Was he said, before he rushed for the door, leaving (name) in the room alone. 

She blinked, surprised at his sudden departure. 

“Ahem.” A voice coughed from behind her, and she whipped around to see Monokuma, tapping his foot on the ground with his arms crossed. “You weren’t just gonna leave this mess here, were you?” 

(name) rolled her eyes. 

—

After cleaning up the mess under Monokuma’s watchful eyes, she went back to her room to wash her face and hands, before changing her clothes into a fresh set of the same clothes that were hung up neatly in her closet. Once she was done, she walked out of her room and closed the door quietly. 

She headed past the lounge, and up the stairs, headed to the third floor. The first person she saw was Nekomaru, doing an intense workout on the floor. It seemed like he was really putting in work, as his face was drenched with sweat, but he never seemed to get tired. 

“Hey, Nekomaru! How are you doing?” He seemed to be really engrossed in his workout, since he did not respond. 

“U-um… Nekomaru?” This time, he stopped working out and sat up, seeming to be in a trance of some sort. (name) stared at him for a while, not sure if he was alive. His breathing was so quiet, and he was sitting so still that it seemed like he was a statue. It was only after a couple of seconds, that (name) decided to make sure he was okay. 

“Neko—” She gave him a quick tap on his shoulder, but Neko shifted so suddenly that (name) lost her balance, and she flew to the ground with Neko pinned on top of her. His forearm was pinned to her throat, causing less air to enter and exit her body. She felt much pressure on her body, as he was right on top of her. 

“N-n-neko…! I-it’s… ugh… me… (name).” She manages to croak out, due to less and less oxygen entering her brain. Nekomaru seemed to waken from his trance, as he let out a loud gasp and jumped off of (name) quickly. 

“Oh! (name)! My bad, my workouts always turn out pretty intense! BAHAHAHA! I didn’t hurt ya, did I?” He boomed, as he placed his hand behind his neck and rubbed it sheepishly, before his face contorted into 

“N-no worries… Just took the air out of me…” (name) breathed out, rubbing her throat and chest. 

“Oh, here! Let me help you up!” Nekomaru grabbed (name)’s hand and lifted her up. She was on her feet in no time, and took a heavy breath.

“You got some good reflexes there, Neko. Maybe you could teach me?” 

“Of course! I am always interested in training athletes!” He yelled loudly, following with a crackling laugh. (name) smiles tiredly, before looking towards the ground and asking him a serious question. 

“Neko? How do you find the energy to keep training?”

“Hm?” He grunted loudly.

“I mean, with this whole game. You just always seem so… hyped.” Nekomaru rubbed his beard for a while, before grinning widely.

“I’m not sure! I just gotta get stronger so that I can find the one who put us in here and teach em’ a lesson!” Nekomaru boomed, cackling loudly. 

“T-that’s it? That’s all the motivation you need?” (name) muttered, trailing off as her eyes followed to the floor. Nekomaru seemed to notice her falter in confidence. 

“(name)!” He screeched, causing her to jump in the air. “If we work together to get off of this airplane, I will give my support to you, and everyone here! That is what managers do!” His loud speech shook the room, but allowed (name) to smile big, no doubt that his answer had definitely warmed her heart. 

“Alright, then! Well, let’s do our best!” For there on, (name) spent her time with Nekomaru. 

After about an hour of training, (name) was absolutely exhausted. Nekomaru had led her through an assortment of exercises—she was tempted to give up multiple times, yet there was something about his coaching that kept motivating her. She could barely move, her legs wobbling from feeling so weak. She tried to throw one last weak punch, as Nekomaru simply pushed her to the ground. (name) was breathing very hard, trying to catch her breath as it felt like her chest was tight and she could feel the blood in her chest.

“ _ Gahhhh _ ! Nekomaru!” She suddenly heard a sharp voice pierce her ears, along with quick footsteps. “What are you doing?!” Using what strength she had left, she opened her eyes to Kazuichi, who grabbed her and held her body close in a protective way. 

“We were having a training session! We have to get stronger if we want to beat Monokuma!” He boomed, as (name) spoke tiredly.

“It’s...okay… K..Kazu…we gotta..get..stronger.” With that, (name) fell into a deep sleep, her head resting on Kazuichi’s chest. 

“Hmm…Must’ve worked her too hard… Oh well!” Nekomaru bursted into laughter.

“Y-you’re both crazy!” Nekomaru and Kazuichi then carried (name) to her room, laid her down on her bed, and walked out quietly. 

— 

When (name) awoke, she looked over to her clock and saw that it was the afternoon. She didn’t realize she could sleep like that but nonetheless she sat up. Her body was tired and sore, yet it brought a relaxing smile to her face. She figured that there was no point in staying in her room, so she moved to the door. She entered the hallway, and began walking when she noticed that Sonia’s door was cracked open slightly. She gave it a quick knock, to which Sonia replied. 

(name) entered to see Sonia, sitting in a chair with a mirror in front of her. Her hair was out of its usual ponytail, with a brush combing out her long blonde locks. 

“Hey Sonia, what are you up to?” (name) greeted her nicely, as Sonia smiled before placing her hands in her lap. 

“Hello (name)! As you can see, I am preparing my hair for a classic hairstyle you know as a ‘French braid’, but I am having reservations on how I will accomplish it.” 

“I can help. I’m great with hair!” (name) replied happily, as she walked towards Sonia. She grabbed a chunk of Sonia’s hair, immediately dazzled by how soft and silky it was. It even smelt like an expensive, vast perfume. (name) began braiding, in a constant rotation from one piece to another. 

It took awhile to braid Sonia’s hair, seeing that it went past her thighs. (name) grabbed a mirror and held it behind Sonia as she grabbed one herself to look at the finished look. 

“It is beautiful! Thank you very much!” (name) smiled, as Sonia’s eyes sparkled happily.

“It seems fitting to give you a makeover of some kind! Please, sit!” Sonia hopped out of her chair and gestured for (name) to sit in her chair, to which (name) complied. Sonia took out (name)’s tousled ponytail, causing it to spill it down her shoulders. Sonia then heated up her curling iron, and began curling (name)’s (hair color) hair. 

When Sonia was finished, she placed a white flower hair pin to add to the cuteness of her hair. It was beautifully curled—loose—but beautiful. (name) admired herself in the mirror for a bit, before thanking Sonia. The two began speaking about random things, all while Sonia painted (name)’s fingernails. It was nice, simple girl talk, which (name) had not experienced much growing up. 

After more time was spent between them, Sonia made the decision that it would be great to go get some dinner from the kitchen. They headed to the kitchen, and they both decided to make dinner together—gathering the ingredients and spending some time in the kitchen. 

Akane walked into the kitchen not long after they did, looking a bit sweaty which (name) assumed was from a workout, and headed straight for the fridge. Akane dished herself from Sonia and (name)’s food, plate after plate and chowed down, engaging in a fun conversation with the two as she stuffed herself with food. Once they were all satisfied, they cleaned up and decided to go their separate ways, since nighttime had fallen.

—

The nighttime announcement sounded throughout the halls, yet there was one thing that (name) still had to do. Holding a plate of some food, she made her way to the dorms. 

“Fuyuhiko? I brought you some food.” (name) called out as she rang the doorbell. She earned no response from inside. “Fuyuhiko?” 

She called out again, this time knocking gently. When she did, the door creaked open slightly and her heart panged. Lightly pushing it and understanding that it was unlocked, she slowly pushed it enough to peek her head in. “Fuyuhiko?” 

She left out a breath of relief when she saw him, sitting at the end of his bed, with his head buried in his hands. He wore his black long-sleeved shirt and black sweatpants. 

“You haven’t eaten, right? I brought you something.” (name) spoke comfortingly, closing the door and setting the plate by the nightstand at his bed. He still didn’t respond, but his back slowly rising and falling indicated to her that he was alive. 

She watched him—still not making any movement. She moved towards him, till she was in front of him and lowered herself near the floor, looking up towards his face. 

“Hey.” She cooed softly, her hand gently wrapping around his arm. 

That touch seemed to have an effect—his head slowly raised and their eyes met and the sight almost made her break down in tears. 

Fuyuhiko was completely defeated—his yellow eyes were dull, void of anything. His bags were prominent, indicating to her that he hadn’t gotten any sleep.

“When did you get here?” He spoke so quietly, she almost didn’t catch it. He really hadn’t noticed she came in. 

“I’m always here for you.” She spoke, voice quiet. He gave her the smallest nod of his head. It was slow and sluggish. Silence joined, before he spoke. 

“I lost her again. I watched her die again.” Fuyuhiko whispered, hollow eyes full of dejection. 

“It’s not your fault. You know that, right?” (name) countered, and his eyebrows scrunched, as he shook his head. 

“I should’ve protected her. It should’ve been me. It should’ve been me—“ 

“No, Fuyuhiko.” (name) reached up, cupping his soft cheek with her hand. “Don’t say that, please.” 

Slowly, he raised his hand—lightly grazing the back of her hand, as if to feel that she was really there. His arm fell, like the action took most of his energy.

“You… won’t go, right? I can’t lose you too.” 

(name) nodded with a gentle smile. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m staying with you, Hiko.” 

Fuyuhiko nodded, and only then did she see a flicker of a glow in his eyes. “(name)…you can see right through me, right?” He whispered, and she could feel a tear drop onto her hand. “I…don’t need to hide from you, right?” 

“Right.” She answered, and with a nod he leaned forward, slipping off the edge of the bed, wrapping his arms around her torso tightly, and burying his head into her neck. 

Pulling her close, almost like if he let go then she’d disappear too. “D-dammit… dammit.” He muttered in between his choked sobs. He cried in her shoulders until he fell asleep from pure exhaustion. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one is absolutely one of my fav free time chapters--usually i just do two like in the game, but i like having the freedom to do three, so i just do three lmao
> 
> also that part with fuyuhiko was sooo fun to write like on god i love the SHIT outta fuyuhiko like if you haven't been able to tell already he is literally my favorite but i try to stay as unbiased as possible i swear lmaooo
> 
> enjoy this lighter chapter, because the next one we are reallllyyyyy getting into it. like, i mean it. like seriously, getting to the good shit. 
> 
> stay tuned! 
> 
> -me


	15. 14

(name) awoke to something she was not expecting. As soon as she opened her eyes, she was met with bright pink ones, that were only centimeters away from her face. Her body's natural reflex was to move away, yet her head went forward, knocking her into Kazuichi who groaned as he fell onto the ground while (name) cradled her head she rocked back and forth on her bed. 

“Kazuichi… What are you doing here?” (name) groaned, rubbing the mark on her head vigorously, head pounding from this familiar situation.

“I-I came to wake you up! It’s past noon!” He explained, to which (name)’s eyes opened wide, as she looked over to her clock, to see that it  _ was  _ way past noon. 

“Geez…” She mumbled, before getting out of bed, walking over to the closet that housed her clothes. Opening the door to create a barrier, she changed her clothes. “Has everyone already eaten?” (name) spoke from behind the closet door before finishing. When she looked at him, he was beet red and avoided her glance. 

“U-u-h y-yeah! Y-yes!” Kazuichi fumbled his words, as (name) scoffed in laughter, looking over at Kazuichi.

“Okay, I’m ready. Let’s go, Kazu.” She smiled towards him before heading to the door with him nervously following. They made their way to the dining room, to find the group with their backs facing Kazuichi and (name) as they entered. 

“Ah!  _ Finally!  _ Do you really think we have all day? I’m a beary busy bear!” Monokuma screeched, allowing the group to turn and greet (name) and Kazuichi. She gazed around the room, noticing the absence of someone. 

“Where’s Nagito?” (name) spoke, as Monokuma chuckled. 

“Oh, don’t you worry about him! Focus on me! I have something for you!” Monokuma spun happily, twirling like an excited child.

“Another riddle?!” Kazuichi screeched. 

“Please, not another one!” Sonia cried out, and Monokuma waved his paw. 

“Oh  _ no _ ! Nothing as despair-inducing as that! I got something even better!” With a proud smile, he held out a girl’s swimsuit in one hand—a plain red bikini top, with black shorts—and in the other, a boy’s swim trunks—plain black with red stripes down the sides. 

“A swimsuit?” Chiaki tilted her head, as Monokuma nodded. 

“Yup yup! I custom-made girls and boys swimsuits! Go and change and have a great time in the pool!” Monokuma twirled around, placing swimsuits in their hands in a swift motion. 

“I have a question.” Hajime spoke, causing a heavy groan to leave Monokuma. 

“Whaaa? Do you not know how to swim? I guess I can provide you with some lessons—”

“I know how to swim!” Hajime quickly retorted before sighing. “Isn’t there a new floor for us to look at?” 

“Hey, that’s right. What’s up with that, Monokuma?” Akane added, placing a hand on her hip as she waited expectantly. 

Monokuma went silent—almost completely frozen before his red eye glinted. “Huh? New floor? Wazzat?” He shook his head vigorously. “To the pool! Go on, go! Or else I’ll give you something to worry about.” He raised his paw, sharp claws protruding through. With that threat, he disappeared. 

“That was weird. So is there a new floor?” (name) pondered.

“There probably is, he just didn’t want to admit it.” Fuyuhiko commented, with a huff and crossed his arms. 

“Let’s go check it out!” Nekomaru boomed, already moving for the door before Kazuichi grabbed onto his arm, trying to tug him back. 

“You can’t do that! Didn’t you hear Monokuma?” Kazuichi yanked and pulled, not moving Nekomaru an inch. 

“Yes, it might prove unfortunate for us to go against him.” Gundham’s deep voice sounded as he stood with his arms crossed. 

“In that case, let us proceed to the pool! I’m sure a nice swim will be just the thing we need.” Sonia smiled, gathering other smiles as they all agreed to head to the pool. 

They all changed in the locker rooms, before rejoining in the pool. The girls were the first ones in, all jumping into the pool. Chiaki sat near the edge of the pool, swinging her feet into the water. The guys sat on the lounge chairs near the pool, engaging in conversation. Minus Nekomaru, who was swimming laps on the deep end of the pool. Gundham sat in the shallowest part of the water, allowing his hamsters to swim in the water. 

When (name) jumped in, diving underwater, it was refreshing—a total relapse as the water muffled sound from her ears. She felt the strangest sensation in that brief moment that her body was collapsed with water. Like the sensation of her, not being able to freely move her body, was something she had felt before. 

When she emerged, she blinked in an odd state of confusion before Akane quickly swam to her, along with the other girls, shaking her out of her daze. The group began laughing, splashing each other without a care of the world. She swam over to the edge with an engaging smile, where the

“Come on, guys! Jump in!” 

“Ah! A-are you sure?” Kazuichi sat up quickly, an eager smile dancing across his face as she nodded. He threw off his beanie and splashed in immediately, erupting the pool in a series of small waves. 

“You too, Hajime!” Sonia called out to the boy, who grinned before jumping in. 

Fuyuhiko was the only one left, laying on the lounge chair with his arms crossed. 

“Your turn, baby gangsta!” Akane grinned, swimming over to the edge. 

“No thanks.” Were Fuyuhiko’s only words, before crossing his arms behind his head and leaning back into the chair. 

“Are you sure?” (name) persisted. 

“Yeah.” He spoke again, closing his eyes. 

Akane and (name) shared a look, and they both grinned at each other. 

“Fuyuhiko, if you’re not gonna swim, can you come take my necklace and hold it for me? I don’t want it to get ruined.” Fuyuhiko scoffed slightly before standing, walking closer towards (name). He held out his hand, gesturing for her to give the necklace to him and when he did, (name) and Akane grabbed his arm and tugged him into the pool, causing a huge splash. The two burst into laughter, along with the others in the pool. As Fuyuhiko emerged from the water, his golden eyes were wide, in shock as his whole body was soaked. The sight was enough to earn more giggles with Akane and (name) giving each other a high five. 

“That’s it!” Fuyuhiko shouted before making his way to (name) who shrieked before trying to swim away, before he caught her leg, and quickly dragged her under the water. His arms wrapped around her body before he heaved her up and threw her above the water, causing a bigger splash. 

When she resurfaced, she erupted in a fit of giggles, with her hair a mess. The group spent their time in the pool, enjoying a life that all teenagers deserved to live. They spent most of their time there, only leaving for a moment to eat before rejoining back into the pool. 

—

Once they were finished, everyone returned to their rooms to shower. (name) remembered that she still had her borrowed bikini, and began heading to the locker room in the pool. 

She opened the door, and cringed when it creaked so loudly. She went into the back room where a basket labeled DIRTY LAUNDRY was in the corner, with a washer and dryer next to it. She figured there was no point in throwing her swimsuit in the basket when she could just wash it herself. She threw the swimsuit in the washer, and began putting in detergent when she heard the door’s agonizing creak. She turned quickly, heart suddenly pounding as she froze for a moment. 

“Hello?” She called out, slowly exiting the back room and entering the locker room once again. She saw no one, and looked towards the pool, but no one was in there. She sighed, dismissing her anxiety on not enough sleep. She turned and when she did, she jumped when she bumped into someone. 

“Nagito!” She shrieked, her heart was racing so fast that she didn’t realize that Nagito didn’t answer. “Jesus… Don’t scare me like that.” She walked around him, to head back to the washer. “Where have you been? We didn’t see you all day.” She pressed a button and the machine started with a hum, shaking lightly. 

“(name)...” Nagito hummed, his voice echoing in the hollow room. She turned—immediately sensing something off about his voice. 

“Y-yes?” It was then that she studied his demeanor, and  _ indeed _ , something was off. His body swayed as her stared at her hungrily—once green eyes now turned an odd foamy green, staring at her in a daze while his mouth spread open in a grin that sent a chill down her spine. 

“R..run.” He whispered. (name) was puzzled, her brows furrowed as she looked at the taller boy. Glancing at his hand, she saw a knife. 

She couldn’t even breath out a reply when his body jerked forward, his arm raised into the air before it came down. She felt a white-hot flare in her arm, barely registering that he had cut her as she let out a shriek, falling to the floor. She only glanced at her arm, blood seeping out of the wound before she tried to scramble to stand, only to feel his weight pin her down. His hand locked onto her wrist, slamming it into the ground and she grunted from the pain. 

He brought the knife to her cheek, lightly pushing it into the skin enough for a dot of blood to draw, before skating down her face. He lowered the knife, now pressing it into her stomach and she gasped. Eyes growing wide, she used her bloodied arm and swung at him, enough to knock the knife from his hand and slam into the ground. Now free, she scrambled up but Nagito had quickly grabbed the knife, swiping it haphazardly. His violent and chaotic movements favored him—she screamed when she felt her skin being cut along the back of her thigh, leaving a deep enough gash that caused her to fall forward again. 

With adrenaline pumping through her, she managed to get up—now limping on her bloodied leg, around a set of lockers, before fumbling through the door of the pool. Nagito was behind her, and just as she was almost around the corner of the deep-side of the pool, she felt his hand on her shoulder. 

“Hel—” She screamed, only for it to be muffled by his rough hand, as his arms wrapped aggressively around her body. She fought against his grip, struggling to break free and in their midst, the edge of the pool came too soon, and they both crashed into the water. 

Fortunately for her, she felt his grip loosen and she fought against him under the water, before kicking away and swimming to the stairs of the pool. The water began to smear with her blood as she frantically swam away, gritting her teeth from the pain. 

She coughed wildly when she reached the stairs, limping up them and as best as she could, sprinting out of the pool without looking back to see if Nagito was close. 

Her breaths were frantic and terrified, mind scattered in fright as she headed for the first floor. In her frenzy to get down the stairs with her injured leg, she fell down them—only landing harshly at the bottom and hitting her head, fueling a seething headache. She groaned, laying in agony.

“(name)?!” A panicked voice sounded near her. 

“What the hell happened?” Another concerned voice sounded, and when her vision cleared, she was met with the worried faces of Hajime and Fuyuhiko. They rushed to her, but tried her best to lift herself with her weak arm. 

“What the—you’re bleeding!” Fuyuhiko shouted, and (name) managed to stand, using a nearby couch to lift herself. 

“H-hurry! He’s… coming!” She warned, limping towards the dorms. The two followed anxiously. When she faltered, they both reached out to stabilize her. 

“Here! My room!” Fuyuhiko motioned, seeing that it was the closest door from the lounge. They moved in, and Fuyuhiko quickly turned and locked it. (name) groaned, slumping against the door, with her wet clothes smearing against the door. Gripping her damaged arm, with her hand thoroughly coated in her blood, she breathed heavy.

“What the fuck is going on?” 

“Nagito… I think...he was injected. He attacked me…” (name) breathed out, wincing from her pain.

“That fucking bastard! I’ll kill him!” Fuyuhiko gritted out. 

“Where did he attack you?” Hajime spoke, holding a small towel that he retrieved from Fuyuhiko’s bathroom and kneeling next to (name), wrapping it around the wound on her arm. 

“The pool—we need to warn the others, before he harms them too.” (name) flinched as she tried to stand up but the searing pain in her leg pushed her back down. 

“Careful! Here—” Hajime tucked his arm around (name)’s waist, before lifting her up, helping her stand. The three jumped when Fuyuhiko’s door was suddenly met with a torrent of harsh bangs. The force was so aggressive, almost shaking the floor beneath it. 

“What do we do?” (name) whispered, as they cautiously backed away from the door. Not a moment later, the door burst open and there stood Nagito—clothes and hair soaked from the pool, yet he still held the knife tightly—enough so that his knuckles turned white. 

Making a beeline to (name), she knew that she would get Hajime and Fuyuhiko hurt if she froze. Swallowing down her fear, she slipped from Hajime’s grasp and with her raised hand, reached for the knife as it came down in an erratic motion. Her hand grabbed his—only a small cut against her finger from the blade as she prepared to wrestle the knife out of his hand. 

Oddly, he froze. Nagito had gone completely rigid. His eyes, that were once dark and erratic, had shifted back into their normal, green-grey color. The knife slipped from his grasp, as his fingers had gone limp, and his eyes slowly rolled into themselves, and he collapsed on the ground, unconscious.

“Nagito!” Hajime called out, running towards the white haired boy, and at the same moment, (name) collapsed onto the ground—legs giving out and now suddenly exhausted. Fuyuhiko caught her before she fell, with her resting in his arms. 

“(name)! Hey, are you okay?!” Fuyuhiko yelled, as he cradled her in his arms. She was breathing too hard, and suddenly felt too tired to speak. Her eyelids were too heavy, and they fluttered closed, and she fell into a painful world of darkness. 

— 

_ (name) recognized this sensation. Only feeling it once, but she immediately knew that it was.  _

_ She was floating—that she was sure of. Her body limp, breath silent, and chest heavy. Her eyelids were heavy, and her mouth slightly agape. She could feel the chilling darkness, once again lost in the sensation that was like water, yet at the same time painful and itchy.  _

_ Am I here again?  _

_ She asked nobody—mouth quivering as she tried to allow the words to slip from her tongue, yet they just echoed in her mind.  _

_ How long was I gone?  _

_ Another question unanswered. She suddenly felt a sharp pain in her right leg and left arm, causing her to wince. It was agonizing—her body jerking yet at the same time staying completely still. Her body felt like it was shaking, yet somehow squishing into itself.  _

_ Her eyebrows furrowed when dread grew in her chest, quickly rising to her eyes and she could feel the tears hiding under her eyelids.  _

_ I’m scared.  _

_ She told herself. _

_ “Can you see?” That familiar voice echoed. Her body felt frozen. She missed that voice—she realized. How long had it been since she last heard it? It was so distant, yet so close. Everywhere, and nowhere.  _

_ Her eyelids no longer felt heavy—and she complied, opening her eyes.  _

_ This time, no bright light blinded her. Nor a darkness that weighed her down. It was red. A deep, bloody red with black clouds, and a moment passes when she realizes she was staring at the sky.  _

_ Her eyes lowered and just below her, she could see the ruins of a city. Debris littered over the streets, bodies decorated and blood spread like icing.  _

_ What is this? _

_ “Despair.” The voice replied, and a sad mourn escaped his lips. “You remember it, don’t you?”  _

_ (name) didn’t answer. Her eyelids shut, as the heaviness pushed them back down.  _

_ Her arms tingled—just like before—and slowly she raised her arms, the tips of her fingers reaching out.  _

_ Are you here? She asked gently, and was greeted by silence. A short moment passed before she could feel the tips of fingers brushing against hers, grazing over her nails. It was so tender, so fragile, but a sad breath left her mouth. She couldn’t feel the tears streaming down her face, falling down into the broken city.  _

_ I think I have to leave soon.  _

_ “Yes. You can’t sleep forever.”  _

_ I’ll come back for you. Don’t leave, okay? She spoke gently.  _

_ It was odd, but she could feel him smile and shake his head.  _

_ “There’s no need for that. We’ll meet each other soon.”  _

_ She frowned when she could no longer feel his touch. Her fingers had paralyzed again.  _

_ Where did you go? _

_ “Don’t worry about me. Go, be with them.” He spoke, voice becoming distant again.  _

_ Silence. An aching silence came once she realized she knew who she was talking to. Her heart thumped, loud enough to echo through the whole dark abyss she was floating in. Droplets of tears drifted into the sky, like time itself had frozen and all that was left was the fragmented idealism that time was a construct—nothing more than a whisper in the air that could easily be hushed, could easily be cut in half.  _

_ She whispered the name, barely recognizing that she had even said it.  _

_ “Makoto?” (name) whispered, pleading with her voice as she tried to reach out—yet she couldn’t.  _

_ He smiled. _

_ “Open your eyes.”  _

When (name) opened her eyes, she was greeted with the white ceiling and medical beeping. She winced from the brightness, letting out a tired wince.

“Hey! She’s awake!” She heard a voice yell, as the sound of footsteps echoed and entered the room. As she finally adjusted to the brightness, she set eyes to see everyone with bright smiles on their faces. 

“Good morning, (name)! How do you feel today?” Sonia was first to ask.

“Miss (name)! Are you feeling hungry or thirsty?!” Kazuichi spoke next. (name) smiled, as she slowly sat up, wincing as she did. 

“(name)!” Nekomaru shouted, practically shaking the entire room as he plowed through the group, making a beeline straight for the bed. His hands gripped around her waist, raising her up and lightly shaking her—his voice full of excitement. “We were so worried about you!” He shouted, tears streaming down his face as he bawled. Her head felt fuzzy as he lifted her, dizziness springing into action of her already sore head.

“Ah! W-wait!” Kazuichi stammered, eyes growing wide at the sight. 

“H-hey! Put her down! She’s still hurt, dumbass!” Fuyuhiko shouted behind him, as Nekomaru gaped before setting her back down into the bed. Her head spun, blinking tiredly. 

“Whoops! S-sorry about that! Are you okay?” Nekomaru chuckled loudly, causing (name) to wince again.

“I’m okay. How long was I asleep?” Her voice came out weak and tired, flimsy with a smile. 

“You’ve been in and out for about a day. I thought you’d never wake up!” Akane laughed, a giant grin on her face. Fuyuhiko crept up, landing a smack atop of her head, causing her to grunt from the sudden pain. “Ow!” 

“You idiot! You’re not supposed to say things like that.” 

“But it’s true… You were  _ way _ more worried than I was, baby gangsta—gah!” Akane gripped her head, only earning another smack on her head. 

“I-Idiot! Shuddup!” Fuyuhiko retorted, a flurry of bright red growing in his cheeks. 

(name) smiled at the sight. 

“We’re glad you’re awake. We had to stitch up your arm and leg, and we aren’t the most skilled but we got it done.” Hajime spoke over the two’s squabbles, nearing the left side of the bed. (name) glanced to her arm, now noticing the tape around her left arm. “Your ankle is sprained, and you also have a concussion, so try not to think too hard.” He smiled, and she nodded. 

“I’ll do my best.” (name) smiled, before feeling a hand against her good arm. She looked over to see Chiaki with her hand against her arm, offering comfort while Gundham stood next to her. 

Gundham bowed. “My deity—please accept my humble apology for allowing this to happen to you.” As he bowed, his four Devas jumped from his long scarf, scattering as they swarmed into her lap, twirling around as she petted them. 

“I’m glad you’re okay.” Chiaki muttered. 

(name)’s smile widened. The hamsters climbed up her body, with Sun-D and Maga-G atop of her shoulders, Cham-P on her head, while she still cradled Jum-P in her hands. “Thanks, everyone. I’m sorry you have to see me like this—wait.” Her eyes scanned the room, spotting the absence. “Where’s Nagito?” 

Her question silenced the room, as they all shared glances between each other, which did not go unnoticed from (name). “Where is he?” 

“W-we thought he was still dangerous, so we tied him up.” Kazuichi explained. (name) looked down into her lap, furrowed brows. She shifted, wincing as she turned her body, willing to move her hurt leg to the edge of the bed, raising the blankets. The room fell to concern. 

“What are you doing?” Chiaki spoke first. 

“You need to rest!” Fuyuhiko urged, and (name) shook her head. 

“I’m fine—please, don’t worry about me. I need to talk to him.” (name)’s feet sweeped the ground, placing her good leg on the ground putting on a brave face. She suppressed a wince as she shifted her torn leg, now seeing the tape wrapped securely around her thigh and her ankle, as she pressed it on the ground. She faltered, trying to ignore the throbbing headache she had on top of her injuries. 

“Wait.” Hajime stopped her. “Could you at least tell us what happened?” 

Looking into his green/red eyes, she nodded. “I was washing my swimsuit in the locker room by the pool when he attacked me with a knife. We struggled, fell into the pool, and when I swam out, I ran as fast as I could to the first floor. That’s when I fell down the stairs, then saw Hajime and Fuyuhiko.” (name) explained to the group. 

“But Nagito fell unconscious right? Why’d he stop chasing ya?” Akane’s head tilted curiously. 

(name) shook her head. “I have no idea. I remember my hand was covered in blood and I grabbed his hand then he stopped and passed out, then I passed out too.” 

“THAAAAAAAT’S RIIIGGGHHHTT!” Without a doubt, Monokuma’s voice pierced the room as he appeared before them. 

“Why are you here?” Gundham spat, as everyone’s attitudes turned sour due to unwanted company.

“I’m here because our sweet, little (name) figured it out!”

“Huh? Figured what?” Akane grumbled confused.

“That our sweet little Mentalist’s blood is the cure to Infection X!” 

“ _ What _ ?!” Everyone’s voice went off like a mantra, bouncing off each other in the room of the infirmary.

“Monokuma. Why was Nagito infected?” Chiaki’s voice punctured through everyone else’s scattered voices, as the room went quiet again. 

“...That’s need to know and you don’t need to know.” He chanted as (name) narrowed her eyes at the bear, who refused to answer the question. 

“No. Tell us.”(name)’s voice spoke up as Monokuma turned to her, seeming to stare at her for a moment before his smile went wider. 

“Fine. Since you asked sooooo nicely, I’ll answer your question.” He spoke in a sing-song voice. “He was poking his little nose in my business! I don’t like a nosy nose, you know? If only he’d pick someone different to try and kill…” Monokuma sighed at his last comment, head hanging to the ground. 

“Poking his nose?” Kazuichi tilted his head.

“Ah-ah! I only agreed to one question. Buh-bye!” And with that, Monokuma was gone. 

“Let’s go get Nagito.” (name) said, finally settling onto the ground. She winced as she began to move her leg, as Fuyuhiko was quick to her side, along with Kazuichi, helping her move. 

They had kept Nagito in the animal shelter, because Sonia believed that he deserved some company. Upon entering, he sat against the back wall, with his skin pale and eyes tired, but still with a smile on his face. 

“Ah, you returned for me… I’m glad, you Ultimates really are amazing.” He croaked, being it must have been the first thing he has said in hours. (name) let go of Fuyuhiko and Kazuichi as she limped towards Nagito. She sat in front of him, where Nagito truly got a good look at her. She was covered in scratches and bruises, with bandages wrapped around her head along with one across her cheek. Her finger was wrapped up tightly, along with her left arm and left ankle and right thigh. The pity in Nagito’s face didn’t fail to be seen by (name).

“(name)...” Nagito began, a sadness replacing his smile. She quickly shook her head to dismiss what he was going to say, she already knew that he was sorry. She felt conflicted, a mix between tired and confused, from fear to sad. That look that Nagito held in her eyes was terrifying but instead of looking into the past—she smiled at him. 

“We can talk about it later. We need to talk to you.” She looked towards his bondage, and shuffled behind him. 

“To me?” His head tilted tiredly, like a curious child. 

“You were injected, right?” Chiaki spoke from behind them, and his eyes sparked from hers to (name).

“We… shouldn’t talk about it here.” Nagito spoke quietly, glancing subtly to the camera posed in the corner of the room. 

(name) nodded. Shifting around him, using her good arm to untie his restraints. 

“(name)!” Hajime warned, but (name) ignored him as she quickly unraveled Nagito’s ropes. Once she was done, she clung to the wall to help herself up. 

“Come on. We can’t talk here. Let’s go, everyone.” She commanded as she limped out of the door. The group followed (name), to where she took them into the locker room of the pool.

She gave the area a quick survey, making sure that there were no cameras, or monitors. 

“We can talk here. I noticed that there weren't any cameras in here when I was first here. Nagito.” He looked towards her, quite tiredly, but the green in his eyes sparkled towards her. “Monokuma mentioned that you were getting too close to him. What did he mean by that?” 

“Did you find something? Please, tell us!” Sonia pleaded desperately.

“I…realized something. It had only occurred to me when (name) and I felt the turbulence the other day.” Nagito spoke vaguely, causing irritation to erupt through Fuyuhiko.

“Well, what was it?! Spit it out for fuck’s sake!” 

“It was...this duration of the plane flight.” Nagito answered. (name)’s eyebrows furrowed. 

“What do you mean?” Gundham spoke.

“Think about it. Haven’t you ever wondered why we’ve  _ kept  _ flying? Why have we never stopped? You figure that we would have to stop for gas, or mechanical repairs, but we haven’t stopped once.” Nagito reiterated, sparking thoughts throughout the room.

“Heeey, yeah! The thought never occurred to me until now!” Kazuichi claimed, with Akane speaking as well. 

“Yeah… Now that I think bout’ it, that’s a good question.” She scratched her head, but still seemed a bit confused. 

“We’ve been flying for  _ days  _ now. It would make sense to stop at some point.” Hajime agreed, as Nagito nodded. 

“There was no destination in the first place.” Chiaki realized, silencing the room. 

“Whaaaaat?! Where have we been going this entire time then?!” Nekomaru boomed.

“Go into more detail, mortal.” Gundham added, eyes growing wide with shock.

“This isn’t making any sense!” Kazuichi cried, gripping onto his beanie.

“Yes, this calls for a serious conversation! I am very much confused!” Sonia chirped, sweat beginning to glisten on her forehead. 

“Ah. So that’s what you figured out. I see now. Good job, Nagito.” Chiaki said, causing all eyes to come to her. 

“Huh? What do you mean?!” Fuyuhiko questioned her, as she placed her hood atop of her head and pressed her fingers together. 

“Think about it very carefully. If we had no destination, what would we be doing on this plane?” Chiaki spoke, and that was when it clicked.

It took (name) only a moment to comprehend what she was saying, and it all made so much sense. She understood it so clearly, and cursed herself for not realizing it earlier. (name)’s next statement caused the room to stop completely. 

_ “It wasn’t a plane to begin with.” _ She turned her head to Nagito. “And that’s why Monokuma injected you.” 

He nodded. 

The room was quiet for what seemed like forever, before everyone broke into a fit of confusion, as well as light shrieks from the shock. They were never on a plane to begin with. 

“B-but…! How can that be possible?!” Nekomaru boomed, with Gundham joining in quickly. 

“Yes, explain, mortal!” His yelling startled his Four Dark Devas out of his sleeves.

“It’s the only thing that makes sense…!” Hajime spoke as he gritted his teeth.

“S-so…We’ve been tricked this entire time?! The fuck?!” Fuyuhiko chimed in, nervous sweat dripping down his face. 

“That is the only thing that could explain it. We aren’t on a plane, just a very good replica of one.” Nagito chimed in, raising his hand to lightly tap his chin as he pondered different scenarios.

“But how do you explain the turbulence?! And the clouds outside?!” Kazuichi questioned.

“It has to be fake...Kazuichi, whenever you look out the window, have you ever seen the ocean, or the sun, or any birds or anything? We’ve been trapped this entire time. In a fake replica of a plane.” (name) explained. 

“Another floor opened, and I was able to make it into the pilot’s headquarters. I only found this.” Nagito said as he pulled out a folded flyer from his jacket and opened it and showed it to the room.

It read:  **_THE FALL OF TOWA CITY!!_ **

**_IS NO ONE HERE TO HELP?!_ **

**_FUTURE FOUNDATION MISSING_ **

**_;_ **

**_DEATH TOLL OVER 50,000_ **

The paper was the color of a crimson red, bathed in dark clouds. The flyer had the picture of silhouetted figures, along with dead bodies riddled along the ground, with a tall city standing in the back of it. As (name) read it aloud, something flashed in her mind that caused her to stop completely. 

_ All she could hear was the constant screams, as well as the sound of a march that she couldn’t quite place. _

_ The city was destroyed, buildings broken and glass shattered, as dead bodies and blood was decorated everywhere. _

It had finally occurred to her that she had seen this city before. Whether it was a dream or a vision, she didn’t have time to worry about it.

“Towa City…” She mumbled, and cut everyone’s conversations to pieces as the room grew quiet. (name) was the first to move—eyes darting in a haphazard gaze as she limped her way to the door. 

“(name)! Where are you going?” Hajime followed after her, with the others following closely behind. 

“Monokuma!” She shouted into the hallway of the second floor. Hajime was first to hold (name) back, confused by her actions.

“(name)! What are you doing?!” 

“Hajime, we  _ have  _ to get out of here. There’s no reason for us to stay. Monokuma! Get out here!” She shouted again.

“What do you mean?” Gundham questioned next, but before (name) could answer, he showed up. 

“You called for me, and so I appear!~” He spoke with a grin. “Now what  _ were  _ you kids doing in there? It can’t be—maybe...it was getting a little...steamy?” Monokuma breathed out heavily, somehow turning a bright shade of red. (name) responded with malice, frowning deeply.

“Cut it out.” Her words burned like fire, smacking Monokuma right in the face. 

“Oh…? Our sweet, sweet (name) has a dark side does she?” 

“Shut up. We were done with your rules, this killing game, and you.” 

“Ah ah ah! Didn’t I saaay that that’s not how this works? You gotta play by the rules: Kill someone, and I’d be glad to let you leave.” A thought occurred to (name) at that moment. Monokuma had always been a step ahead of them this entire time. 

“There’s no need for a killing game anymore. We already know all your secrets.” (name) smirked. That seemed to strike a nerve in Monokuma, as he went silent. “The other one told us everything.” 

She made sure to  _ not _ be specific, as Monokuma suddenly turned angry. His paw turned into sharp claws, as his face contorted red from the anger. 

“Which...one…?! I’ll kill them!” A roar escaped him. “Shirokuma! Kurokuma!” 

As he screamed, the two other bears appeared.

“Yes, boss?! Oh! My beautiful, smoking (name)! It’s been solongsinceI’dseenyourgorgeousface-“ Kurokuma spoke loudly, as (name) glared and took a step back, with Nekomaru stepping forward in a protective stance next to her.

“Yes, Monokuma?” Shirokuma spoke in a sweet voice, to which Monokuma combatted quickly. 

“One of you made a  _ bearrrryy  _ big mistake.” Monokuma’s voice was low and heavy, dragging on as it scrapped venom from the depths of his soul. 

“A-a-a mistake?! Kurokuma ain’t never made a mistake!” Kurokuma stuttered out, and despite his odd confidence he was shaking. 

“B-but we’ve done nothing but follow your rules!” Shirokuma’s voice squeaked, moving to hide behind Kurokuma. 

“Quiiiiiet!” Monokuma screamed again, dragging with deep breaths. The two went silent, visibly shaking. “Now, I’m only going to ask this once. Which one of you… did it?” 

“D-did it? Like  _ did it  _ did it? Because I can say for a fact that Shiro over here ain’t do—“ 

  
  


“Which one of you did it?! Which one of you told them about the secret hatch?!” Monokuma was consumed in a rapid-fire anger that he didn’t realize his flaw. Nor were the other two, who were scared enough to say anything. 

“I-i-it wasn’t me! H-honest! I must’ve been that Shirokuma! I wouldn’t say a word about the hatch! I promise I didn’t mention anything about it!” Kurokuma was quick to defend himself, throwing Shirokuma under the bus.

“I-i-i-i didn’t say anything about it either! Kurokuma was probably the one who told them that it’s on 2nd’s floor!” Shirokuma spoke, contradicting Kurokuma, as Monokuma screeched to get them to be quiet.

“Grrrrrrrruuughhhh!” Monokuma shrieked before punching Kurokuma, then slashing at Shirokuma, causing the two to shriek in terror as they disappeared with Monokuma chasing after them. 

“What...the fuck?” Were Fuyuhiko’s first words, as (name) turned to him with a mischievous smile on her face. Fuyuhiko’s eyes widened at the strange look he was receiving.“W...what? Why are you looking at me like that?” 

It was Nagito, who had burst into laughter caused (name)’s smile to widen.

“That...was pretty good, (name). You had me worried there for a second.” 

“What? What’d she do?” Akane asked, demanding to be in the loop of what just happened. 

“Monokuma slipped up.” Chiaki noted, a smile on her face. 

“What are you talking about?” Kazuichi inquired, completely confused along with the rest of them. 

“Come on, we gotta hurry. Nekomaru, can you help me?” Nekomaru was confused as well, but he picked up (name) carefully, as she directed him to the 2nd floor, with everyone else following. She stopped him when they got to the lobby of the second floor. 

“Okay, I think this is it.” (name) said as she patted Nekomaru, motioning him to place her down.

“I’m still confused, why are we here?” Kazuichi asked, rubbing his beanie. 

“You seriously didn’t hear? You must be hard of hearing.” Chiaki answered, as she stood by (name), looking around the lobby.

“Huh? Hear what?” 

“Kazu, think back.” Kazuichi’s cheeks blossomed upon hearing (name)’s nickname for him. “What did Monokuma say that led us here?” 

“Hm? I don’t know; Didn’t he say something about a hatch…?...!” Kazuichi’s face light up, as he had finally realized it.

“That’s right. I tricked him into telling us on how to get out of here.” 

“Wooow! Miss (name), you’re amazing!” For a second, (name) could swear that she saw his eyes morph into hearts, but that couldn’t be possible. 

“We do not have much time before Monokuma realizes what we are up to, so we have to find that hatch!” Sonia warned and with that, everyone went to work. They split up, looking room by room for a hatch of any kind. They worked pretty fast, but still couldn’t find a hatch. 

“Goddammit! Where’s this stupid fucking hatch?!” Fuyuhiko yelled in frustration, as (name) looked around carefully.  _ ‘Come on, think… What did Shirokuma say?’  _

**_“Kurokuma’s probably the one who told them that it’s on 2nd’s floor!”_ **

“2nd’s floor?” (name) muttered before she looked towards the ground. 

“Hey...Gundham.” 

“Yes, mortal?”

“Come here a minute, please?” She asked nicely, as his cheeks blossomed slightly as he approached her. “Does this floor look...any different to you?” He stood by her, staring at the floor before one of the Four Dark Devas (Jun-P) to be exact, scurried from his scarf and jumped to the ground. 

“A-ah! Jun-P! What is it?” The hamster squeaked loudly, as he ran from the side to side. The darted around in circles in a certain spot on the ground, before stopping abruptly to scratch at the floor. (name) winced as she lowered herself to the floor, head suddenly pounding from the rush of pain that shot through her body. 

“Goddess! You must take caution—you are still wounded.” Gundham spoke. 

“I’m fine—“ She gritted through her teeth, shaking her head before pressing her ear to the floor. Listening carefully, before hearing the whining cry of the only thing that she could describe as… a  _ draft.  _ Her eyes widened when she made this distinction, mouth falling open. 

“Omigod!” (name) shouted, causing everyone’s attention to be on her. 

“What is it?! Have you found something?!” Gundham shouted as well, with everyone rushing towards her. She didn’t answer, just began moving rapidly. With her good hand, began knocking his fist against the floor, along with pressing her ear to the floor. A soft echo ran out that wasn’t supposed to be there, and she grinned.

“(name)! What are you doing?” Sonia questioned, as (name) smiled big.

“There’s a draft! Nekomaru, Akane! There’s a draft here! Can you lift this?” The two looked at each other, before breaking into grins.

“Hell yeah! I’ve been wantin’ to break somethin’ !” Akane spoke as she cracked her fingers, along with Nekomaru laughing loudly. 

“BAHAHAHA! Now this is a good training session!” It didn’t take the two long. With a couple of loud, hard punches and crashes to the ground, ripping up the carpet—sure enough, was a hatch. 

They pulled it open, and were greeted with the darkness with grey narrow stairs going down. The staircase was encased in a deep grey, only going darker further down but sure enough, a draft wafted from the hatch.

“We did it!” (name) called out—gesturing to the staircase. 

“What are we waitin’ for? Let’s get outta here!” Akane grinned brightly, turning for the stairs. 

“Are we sure that it is safe?” Sonia questioned, worry seeping into her features. 

“We don’t know if it’s a trap.” Kazuichi hesitated, before Hajime stepped between the two of them. 

“I doubt it—the way it was hidden, there’s no way it would be a trap.” Nagito observed. 

“We won’t know unless we go.” Hajime answered, placing a comforting hand on Kazuichi and Sonia’s shoulders. 

“He’s right. We shouldn’t waste anymore time—let’s go.” Fuyuhiko agreed, staring at the staircase. With a shared resolve, one by one they receded down the stairs. 

Nagito and (name) were the last ones—getting ready to head down before they were stopped by a voice. 

“Well...well…well...I hate liars!” Monokuma’s voice boomed behind them. (name) frowned, eyeing the small bear before she smirked. 

“You have to admit—I got you pretty good.” 

“I don’t like when people cheat at my own game, (name). How did you find my hatch?” Monokuma spat darkly.

“I didn’t cheat—You told me yourself.” She replied smoothly. Nagito lowered himself in front of (name), indicating for her to climb on his back. She complied, wrapping her arms around his neck as he carefully gripped her thighs. 

“I have one question for you.” Nagito spoke up after (name) was secure on his back. 

“Hm?” Monokuma hummed. 

“Who’s the mastermind?” 

Monokuma fell silent, before a low chuckle escaped him. “Oh, you don’t know? I guess you’ll just have to die finding out.” 

“We’re not going to die. We’re gonna beat the mastermind, and soon you’ll just be a distant nightmare.” (name) spoke strongly, voice smooth and without error. 

Monokuma growled under his breath. “I knew you’d be a problem. I should’ve injected you first.” Monokuma spoke angrily, as (name) smiled. 

“Then I guess that was your mistake.” Nagito added, smirking before turning, heading down the stairs. She didn’t know what to expect as they headed down those stairs, but what Monokuma echoed to her as they left sent a shiver down her spine. 

_ “That world is going to kill you faster than I ever could.”  _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed this extra special, long chapter! welcome to the bigggg climax--they finally escaped, but what's waiting for them? stay tuned!
> 
> see ya, next time!
> 
> -me


	16. 15

It was dark as Nagito treaded down those stairs, for what seemed like a long time. (name) was surprised that he didn’t trip, but as they kept walking, they were suddenly met with a light. It was small at first, but it progressively got bigger. (name) wondered if she was dreaming, but giving Nagito a quick squeeze and resting her head on his soft white hair was enough to wake her up. The light got so bright that it blinded them both, and when their eyesight returned to them, it was something that they could not expect. 

The world was exactly how (name) had pictured it. A sea of red—along with clouds of black created a kind of despair that made her body feel heavy. The trees were tall, yet decaying, along with the broken cars littered all over the streets, with destroyed stores and buildings. People always talk about the end of the world, that it is too sudden, and that everything is just...gone. But seeing it through your own eyes is so completely different. It was breathtaking in (name)’s eyes, in the most unpleasant, worst way imaginable. 

“Oh my god…” (name) mumbled, her heart filling with sadness as Nagito’s walk halted, exiting out of a small tunnel that landed them on a street.

“What is this?” He was as shocked and conflicted as she was. Everyone else was not too far ahead as Nagito picked up the pace to join the rest of the group. 

“(name)! Nagito! What took you so long?!” Hajime immediately questioned the ones who were lagging behind, the atmosphere affecting his mood. 

“We ran into Monokuma on our way out.” (name) responded, lowering herself off of Nagito’s back.

“Monokuma?! Are you guys okay?!” Kazuichi’s concern echoed loudly, as (name) gave him a small smile before waving it off. 

“Don’t worry, nothing happened.”

“He didn’t try to stop you?” Chiaki soon inquired, as (name) shook her head. “Hmm.” Was all she responded with before putting her hood up. 

“May I ask, w-what do we do now?” Sonia asked, terror present in her voice as she was shaking slightly. 

“We should find help somewhere. Maybe there are some people around—mgh! ” (name) said, completely forgetting about her injury as she stepped carelessly and placed her weight on her bad leg, causing her to topple over. 

“(name)!” A chorus of her name sounded, and she chuckled, pain evident in her voice.

“A-ah, no worries! I just misstepped, it’s okay!” She tried to smile to hide the pain, but the wound was enough to convince everyone otherwise. 

“Your leg is bleeding! You must have opened the stitches!” Nekomaru cried out, as (name) winced from the excruciating pain. “Here, I’ll carry you.” 

“No, it’s fine, Neko! You don’t have to—“ He didn’t listen however as he scooped (name) faster than she could deny. 

“I believe that we should find a place with medical attention for (name), and decide where to go from there.” Sonia recommended, to which no one disagreed (except (name) who said that she was fine, but no one believed her), as they began walking. (name) was not sure how, but they found a broken pharmacy, which looked as if it was going to break on its hinges. 

“This place looks fine for now.” Hajime stated, as their footsteps echoed along with the crunch of glass on the floor. Towards the back of the store was a big sign that read  **PHARMACY,** although smashed and a few letters destroyed.

Nekomaru strolled to the pharmacy, and found an old chair where he placed (name). She winced from the pain, but tried her best to ignore it. 

“Let us find some medicine, hm?” Sonia spoke with a smile before looking and walking behind some shelves. As (name) looked, there seemed to be no medicine whatsoever, as everything had been spilled on the floor or stolen. The only thing she noticed was a dirty scalpel on the ground—she grimaced at the sight. 

“We will search for anything else inside this abomination of a building.” Gundham spoke as he began his search, along with Kazuichi, Fuyuhiko, Chiaki, and Hajime joining him.

Before long, Sonia returned with a few supplies. She had a couple of long bandages, with a rag and a bottle of alcohol. “I have returned with supplies!” She spoke happily, and (name) was grateful that Sonia was able to find anything until her gaze fell to the bottle of rubbing alcohol in her hand, and instantly felt her skin grow cold. 

“U-uh, it’s okay Sonia! Just the bandages will be fine!” (name) hastily spoke, waving her hands with a surge of panic.

“Hm? But we need to clean your wound, do we not?” Sonia questioned, walking closer. (name) instinctively scooted the chair back, despite the pain surging from her leg.

“Yes, we do! Don’t worry (name), I’ll do the wrapping.” Nekomaru spoke up, clapping his hands together with a mighty grin, making (name)’s heart sink into the ground. 

“No! Neko, we don’t have to do that, it's totally completely fine—! ” 

“I’ll hold her down.” Nagito appeared out of nowhere, as he leaned down in front of her and held her arms against the arms of the chair with a kind smile. 

“Perfect! Let’s get started then!” Sonia spoke with a smile, as she began to pour the hated liquid onto (name)’s unwrapped leg. (name) bite her tongue so hard from the pain, she tasted blood. Along with a gritted scream, she hissed loudly with sweat building up on her forehead and tears welling in her eyes. She wiggled and squirmed around as Nagito held her down with no effort. 

“A-ah! God…!” Luckily for her, Sonia worked pretty fast, cleaning up the spilt blood before she reached into her dress pocket. She pulled out a needle, with a ball of string as (name)’s eyes widened. 

“N-no, Sonia! Oh god, please no…” 

“Don’t worry, this will be done in no time! Bahahahah!” Nekomaru chuckled.

“If you squirm around, it’ll hurt more.” Nagito spoke with an oddly cheerful tone. 

“Alright! Here we go!” Sonia cheered before sticking the needle into (name)’s skin. The event was something that she never wanted to experience again in her life. 

Nekomaru wrapped her up like he promised, as (name)’s body still trembled from the lingering pain. She suddenly felt cold, maybe due to the sweat that glistened over her body. Not a moment passed when she felt a light weight on her body, looking up to see that Nagito had perched his jacket on her shoulders. 

“We don’t want you to catch a fever, now do we?” He said with a nervous smile, to which (name) replied with a pained one, before beginning to try and stand up. Nagito helped her by looping his arm around her waist as she slowly pulled her arms through the jacket, as it drooped down to her mid thighs as Nagito helped her walk. 

“Hey guys! Come look at this!” Fuyuhiko called out, with everyone joining around him. In his hand was a newspaper, which was hard to read, seeing as it was covered in dirt and soot. 

**_TOWA TOWERS: THE SOURCE OF THIS MADNESS?!_ **

**_CEO TOKUICHI TOWA AND HAIJI TOWA - MISSING!_ **

Was the front cover of the newspaper, along with two pictures of two men alongside it. It showed a  _ giant  _ building, along with the dark red sky. 

“Towa Towers? Ain’t that sound familiar?” Akane spoke, scratching her head. 

“Indeed. However, I get a peculiar aroma when I fathom the name.” Gundham agreed, as he held his chin in his hand and was in deep thought. 

“It does sound awfully familiar...Have we, perhaps, been to Towa Towers?” Sonia inquired, to which she was met with distraught. 

“I don’t know… It feels like it’s in the back of my mind but I can’t remember.” Hajime spoke aloud, causing (name) to speak up as well. 

“Why can’t we remember it? It’s like-“ (name) was shattered from her thoughts when she glanced past Hajime’s face and out to the window. Her face paled and her heart sank at the figure that stood outside the window. As long as she lived, she would never forget that face. No matter how hard she tried, she would never forget those two colors, and it was impossible for her to forget that one,  _ red,  _ eye. 

“M-Monokuma?” She mumbled frightenedly, as Nagito looked from her and followed her eyes outside. Everyone had looked from her to the window, and immediately fell into a panic. 

“T-the fuck?! How’d he find us?!” Fuyuhiko yelled, his face turning a different color as he took cautious steps back. At the speed of lightning, The figure of Monokuma jumped, with a pair of claws elongated, and shattered the window as it landed inside the pharmacy. The room was filled with shrieks and shouts, as Monokuma took a glance of everyone in the room, and erupted in a crackling laugh, with that red eye glowing menacingly, as he charged at them. 

(name) moved before she could think about it, letting go of Nagito as she pushed him out of the way of Monokuma. Everyone else moved as well, with a couple of screams and rapid feet. (name) limped as fast as she could behind a knocked down shelf, finding Hajime had taken cover there as well. 

“W-what are we going to do?!” Hajime spoke frantically, as (name)’s heart was beating so fast that she thought it would explode. She shook her head in shock as she looked over the counter to see Monokuma. He was standing in the middle of the aisle, moving his head slowly side to side in an odd, mechanical way that it was almost as if he was analyzing the situation. It was then that it clicked in (name)’s mind. She didn’t have time to speak, her body moved before she could completely comprehend what she was doing. Monokuma had moved towards Sonia as she shrieked as he raised his sharp claws to the princess. (name) limped her way to the chair that she had previously occupied and reached for the scalpel that she had seen earlier. Her instinct after was to grab the chair as she hurled it in Monokuma’s direction, causing the loud clash to make him turn her way towards (name).

“Hey! Over here!” She called towards him, causing worry to spread throughout the pharmacy.

“(name)! What are you doing?!” Hajime was the first to call out, before shouts were loud and alarming throughout the store. She ignored them, as she gripped the scalpel tight, as Monokuma charged at her.

“(name)!” She heard Kazuichi call out as when Monokuma was about to strike her down, she shoved the scalpel into Monokuma’s red eye, shattering it as his body fell atop of (name)’s, taking her down to the ground. Fuyuhiko was the first to her, as she pushed Monokuma’s body off of her own. 

“It… was a machine.” She spoke, trying to capture her breath and calm her heart. 

“There are robot Monokumas trying to kill us?! We’re gonna die, we’re gonna die…” Kazuichi panicked, pulling his beanie over his eyes as he paced back and forth. 

“Sonia, are you okay?”

“I am. Thank you, (name).” She smiled as (name) returned it, before Fuyuhiko spoke as well. 

“God, you’re insane, (name).” He shook his head with a weary smile, as he helped her up.

“This world is not one for mere mortals. We must be cautious of any more metallic beasts.” Gundham cautioned, as they all agreed before deciding to leave the pharmacy to find shelter. They somehow managed to find a broken abandoned home that looked like it was going to collapse any second in a secluded alleyway. The wood creaked as they stepped in, walking in to see an old fireplace with giant pieces of wood placed haphazardly in the house. The house had a small kitchen which didn’t seem to be in use with a broken bathroom. 

“This should do for now, I hope.” Hajime spoke as (name) gazed around the room.

“I’ll give this house a look and make sure there aren’t any more of those Monokuma’s in here.” Nekomaru spoke, with Nagito following. 

“Ya think there’s any food?!” Akane grinned, her eyes flashing with stars as she ran to look for a refrigerator, which (name) seriously doubted had food in it. Giving the house a look, it was completely trashed. The foundation looked as if it was crumbling itself, with the roof leaking with water and random puddles on the wood floor. She was surprised that it managed to fit everyone in here, but it would definitely be a tight fit. 

“I will proceed to search for any blankets or pillows!” Sonia spoke with a smile before turning the corner. 

“It seems like my four Dark Devas of Destruction are yearning for something to occupy their appetite.” Gundham spoke, before heading into the kitchen accompanying Akane. (name) noticed that Kazuchi was curled in a ball, with his head in between his legs and his arms crossed over. 

“...Kazu? You okay?” She asked, before Hajime mentioned something about checking out the house before leaving.

“...We’re going to die here, aren’t we, (name)?” She frowned with that question, and limped towards the beanie wearer. She reached for his hands, grabbing them as she leaned down, pulling him up gently. He looked at her with teary eyes as he stood.

“No. We’re going to live through this, Kazu. We’re going to live, and you’ll get to build us the biggest...robot we’ve ever seen! Does that sound good?” (name) spoke with a big smile on her face, which seemed to make Kazuichi’s face light up, as he wiped his beading tears and forced a determined smile. 

“Yeah! I’ll make it the biggest robot known to history!” (name) smile brightened. Kazuichi then mentioned that he won’t be able to work if he has an empty stomach, so he ran into the kitchen to accompany Gundham and Akane. 

(name) took a step, and winced suddenly when she put too much pressure on her legs and stumbled, as Fuyuhiko quickly grabbed her around the waist and steadied her.

“You good?” He spoke with his golden eyes meeting her (color) ones. She smiled tiredly before nodding.

“Mhm. I just put too much pressure on it.” It was then that she noticed Chiaki standing by one of the windows that was surprisingly intact. 

“Chiaki? What are you doing?” It was quiet for a few moments until she was snapped out of her gaze, and answered.

“Hm? Oh nothing, I was just sleeping.” (name) and Fuyuhiko comically sweatdropped. 

“You can sleep with your eyes open?” Fuyuhiko deadpanned, as Chiaki wiped some drool from her mouth and stretched. 

“I was sleepy, and I still am sleepy. Has Sonia come back with those blankets yet?” The two shook their heads. “Ah. Well, she might need some help anyway.” Chiaki spoke before turning the corner that Sonia had walked before. (name)’s attention then turned towards the window, and gestured for Fuyuhiko towards the window as she limped over there with his support. Looking out the window, (name) still couldn’t believe it. She still believed that they were living in a dream, a terrible,  _ terrible  _ nightmare that they couldn’t wake up from. But sooner or later, (name) was going to have to realize that this wasn’t a dream, and that it was real life. But that time was not now. 

“(name).” Fuyuhiko’s voice caught her off guard and took her out of her thoughts as she turned towards the blonde. “There’s...something I wanna tell you…” 

“Hm? What is it?” She failed to notice his cheeks brighten, as he shyly looked towards the ground. 

“I... wanna let you know... that I-“ He was suddenly interrupted when Kazuichi burst into the room, a smile ear to ear as he held a giant bottle of water and rolls of bread.

“We found food!” He practically screeched, as Chiaki and Sonia made their way downstairs with large blankets and comforters. 

“We have acquired some blankets!” Sonia beamed, as Chiaki held up a pillow.

“And a pillow.” (name) smiled and chuckled before she turned back to Fuyuhiko.

“What were you saying, Hiko?” Fuyuhiko’s cheeks blossomed from the nickname, but he averted his gaze before putting on a strained smile.

“Ah, it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.” (name) was compelled to pressure him more but decided against it when Akane suddenly called for her. 

“(name)! Come over here and hold me back before I eat this all!” Fuyuhiko let go of her as (name) made her way towards the kitchen. Time went by slowly after that. (name) did her best to hold Akane back, and tried her best to split the food even between them all. Nekomaru and Nagito reported that they didn’t find anything unusual, but Nekomaru was happy to say that there was a working bathroom, along with a small balcony. Sonia and Chiaki found two big comforters and laid them down on the floor, and said that everyone would just have to sleep next to each other tonight. The pillow was decided to be given to Gundham, for his Devas of Destruction. 

After everyone had eaten, Nekomaru forced Hajime and Fuyuhiko to help him gather firewood for the chimney. It took them a while but when they finally did get the wood, Gundham managed to start the fire without matches, or any other way you  _ could  _ start a fire which (name) was still confused on the physics of how that worked. Her mind drifted to other thoughts, as laid down against the creaky floor. 

She couldn’t recall what they had been talking about, but the crackling fire and quiet conversations between her friends soothed her to sleep, and right into a nightmare. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is poorly written i know but it gets better in the next one, honest! 
> 
> thanks for reading! ill see you in the next one!
> 
> -me


	17. 16

_ She was running. How long or how far, she didn’t know. Her vision is blurry, and the silhouettes in the distance are running as well, from something that she can’t turn her head back to see. The mechanically chatter was all her senses could recognize, and at some point she tripped, crashing to the ground in a hopeless manner. Her heart was pounding, knowing full well that she was going to die, but a silhouette pulled her up, and in the same moment her sight glitched—the silhouette was on the ground, raising an shaky arm, pleading for (name) to lift them up, just as they once had. But she was too frightened, only shaking her head as she cautiously backed up, before forcing her legs to dart away. All she could hear was the curdling screams that sent a pain down her heart that made her weak and she kept running.  _

“Ah!” (name) gasped, as she shot up from where she was laying, breathing hard trying to catch her breath and still her rapidly beating heart. She had broken into a cold sweat, as she wiped her forehead before looking around quickly. To the right of her was Chiaki, who seemed to drool quite a bit in her deep sleep. Feeling a grip at her wrist, she turned to her left to see Gundham, his Four Dark Devas of Destruction resting on his chest. His hand was gently caressing her wrist as he slept, allowing her to sleep with comfort. She then scanned the room to make sure she didn’t wake anybody up, before coming to the conclusion that it was a bad dream. Gundham shifted in his sleep, slowly releasing his soft grip on her hand. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to sleep anytime soon, so she stood slowly due to her leg, and made her way to the balcony that Nekomaru had mentioned the night before. 

A burst of fresh air was exactly what she needed, but she would have to settle for this weary smell instead. She walked over to the ledge, as she dangled her arms over it and watched the crumbling city. She had told Kazuichi that they were going to live, and that he was going to build them the biggest robot known to man, but she knew in the back of her mind that something was going to go wrong. But just the thought made her body shiver, so she shook her head quickly to dispel the thoughts and forced a smile. 

She got startled when the door behind her opened, whipping around to see Nagito, who had a calm smile on his face. 

“Hey, what are you doing out here?” He spoke in a smile, and it was then that she realized she was still wearing his jacket, and took it off and handed it to him as he walked closer towards her. 

“I..uh..I couldn’t sleep. What about you?” 

“I saw you leave, so I came to check on you.” 

“Oh… well, thank you. I appreciate it. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up.” (name) sighed, as Nagito shot her a goofy smile before speaking again. 

“Don’t worry about something silly like that. What was the dream about? If you don’t mind me asking.” Nagito asked, leaning against the balcony. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words flowed out. The dream was very dark when she tried to remember it, and fuzzy like an old TV. 

“I think I was running, and someone saved me. But, something happened and— ” She stopped there, fumbling for the words to describe the blurry dream but nothing else came to mind. She didn’t remember it all, but she knew it was something terrifying enough to wake her completely from her sleep. “I know it was important. Why can’t I remember?” 

“Maybe you just don’t want to remember.” She looked towards his pale green eyes that smiled at her, as she placed a small smile on her face. 

“Yeah, maybe.” She said before looking off towards the horizon. One very disappointing thing about the end of the world was that the sky never changed color, just the same, dark, red sky of despair. “Have you had any nightmares, Nagito?” 

“Nearly every night.” He answered nonchalantly, with an absent smile on his face as he gazed out to the damaged world. Her eyes widened hearing this—he was suffering from nightmares almost every night and didn’t say anything?

“You have?” It came out in a sad, shattering whisper. “Why didn’t you say anything?” 

His light green eyes turned to hers, smiling still. “It wasn’t anything serious. They aren’t real, but I try not to think about them.” 

“But still! If you have a terrible nightmare, you should at least talk to someone about it.” 

Nagito's smile turned fond as he gazed down at the shorter individual. “Okay. If you really want me to, I’ll remember that next time.” 

(name) nodded. “Please do.” 

Nagito nodded as well, with his gaze turning back to the overlooking view. Silence crept into their conversation for a small moment, before he spoke again. “The dreams I had were terrifying, but all I had to do was step outside my room and I knew that everything was okay.” He paused, before a relaxing sigh left him before he continued. “I always dreamt of losing you but in the end, it was just a dream.” 

Her eyes went wide hearing his words, turning to him with surprise. “Of… me?” 

Nagito nodded again. She felt confused, yet the next thing Nagito said took her mind in a  _ complete  _ spiral of even more confusion and shock.

“I’m in love with you.” Her heart sank. At first, she didn’t think she heard him right, but when she replayed the last few seconds in her head, there was no way she heard him different. He smiled at her, with his eyes crinkling, before looking away.

“Y-you… I-I… W-what?” She was beyond confused, yet her heart hammered in her chest. 

“I kept having dreams about you, and I was confused on why that was. But everyday passed, and I realized why I would always wake up so frightened. I’m in love with you. It’s somehow such a hopeful, hopeless feeling.” Nagito repeated, throwing her deeper into the spiral. For being the Ultimate Mentalist, she never expected something like this would ever happen to her, and any time soon. She, in a way, could read people’s minds by the way they were feeling. She was always able to tell when something was going to come up, but never would have imagined that  _ this _ would occur. Maybe she hadn’t veered into the subject of love and romance enough to understand how a person would feel, but even if she was, she would still have  _ no  _ clue how to react. She had no idea what to say.

“...H-how… Y-y-you—” She stumbled with her words as she was suddenly embraced by Nagito’s warm body. He tucked his arm around her waist and placed a hand on her head to bring her closer, as he leaned in to it. (name) could feel her cheeks heat up quickly, as she awkwardly withstood the embrace, not quite sure where to put her hands.

And when she began to move her hands, Nagito let go and backed up from her with his hands up cautiously.

“Ah, sorry! You probably wouldn’t want to touch someone like me.” He spoke with a sad and sheepish smile on his face as (name) could finally speak. 

“No! No, that’s not it! I just… I’m just surprised, that’s all. T-thank you, for uh.. telling me. I appreciate it very much.” 

“Really?!” He suddenly beamed of happiness before he coughed to clear his throat and calm himself down. “That means so much coming for you, (name).” She smiled nervously as Nagito started to take steps back.

“Well, I’ll leave you alone now, but you should get some rest.” She nodded as she watched Nagito retreat inside the broken house. She turned back around, completely dumbfounded at what just happened. The most important question with her now was if she felt the same way back. She wasn’t sure, but now she felt too tired to even think about it. She stood there for a while before returning inside, and heading back to a dreamless sleep. 

—

Upon awakening, she was greeted by a pair of blue eyes with a huge grin on her face. Akane then yelled in (name)’s face, causing her to fully awake. 

“(name)! Ain’t ya gonna get up? We gotta go to Towa Towers!” 

“I’m up.” The Mentalist spoke groggily, rubbing her eyes as she sat up and smiled, and looked to see that everyone was awake. 

“Are we going now?” She asked, and got a majority of nods. 

“Ah! Before we go, we should redress your wound.” Sonia announced, and (name) cringed, but swallowed the growing dread and nodded as well. Sonia then proceeded to remove the bandages and cleaned it with alcohol before wrapping it again. Her leg was feeling much better, and she could walk without limping so much. 

When Sonia was done, she got up, and began pressing her foot into the ground to see how much pressure her leg could withstand, which was much more than a couple days ago. 

“ALRIGHT! LET'S GET GOING!” Nekomaru boomed loudly, as Hajime quickly shushed him to avoid attention from the robot Monokumas.

Once they were outside, the sky looked the same as the day before. Cold, dark and red. They could see Towa Towers in the distance due to its tallness. It wasn’t too far away that they couldn’t walk, but it was definitely a walk. 

They began walking through the crumbling street, cautious of any Monokumas. So far they had not encountered anything dangerous, which they were grateful for. Along the walk, (name) noticed a giant cemetery that had an eerie vibe to it, more than usual. She felt something, like a thought, or something with life in the air. She stopped, and waited. She wanted to make sure of what she had felt seconds ago, and when it occurred again, she turned towards the cemetery and limped towards it, ignoring Hajime’s call to find whatever it was that clung to her. 

And she knew she was right. Not too far into the cemetery, was the tall body of a man who seemed to be unconscious. He had long dark hair that spilled around his body where he laid. She noticed that he had a white cast around his right arm, and she couldn’t help but feel like he looked so familiar. 

“Hey! Hey! Wake up!” She shook the man’s body, then placed her ear to his chest to feel something, and she felt his heart beating so that was a relief. 

“What are you doing- AAAAHHHHHHH!” Kazuichi had walked over to her, and immediately gained the attention of everyone else with his scream, as (name) quickly stood and covered his mouth to avoid any more unnecessary attention.

“Kazu! Quiet! We don’t want any Monokumas finding us.” His pink eyes were wide with worry and fright, as she could see sweat beading on his face. 

“Buf thrawhs ah deaf body!” 

“I’m pretty sure he’s not dead. Gundham!” She called to the hamster wielding boy, who was at her side in a matter of seconds.

“Yes, goddess?” 

“Is there any way you can, I don’t know, revive him or something? Surely someone as powerful as you can, right?” (name) sheepishly grinned, earning a look of disbelief from Hajime.

“You aren’t serious, right?” Hajime spoke as he sweatdropped at how this serious situation turned into something so ridiculous. 

“Well I have no clue what to do! What should we do then?” (name) replied.

“Hmm… I will see what I can do.” Gundham spoke as he turned towards the unconscious man.

“Maybe that isn’t the best idea.” Nagito chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck. 

“I could practice some new moves on him! That’ll wake him right up!” Akane grinned mischievously as she began to crack her knuckles before Fuyuhiko smacked her atop of the head.

“You idiot! You’ll kill him if you do that.” Akane rubbed her head tenderly as she frowned at Fuyuhiko. 

“We could just wait for him to wake up.” Chiaki yawned, as she put her cat hood up. 

“But he could be in this state for a long time! I say a hard smack should do the trick!” Sonia smiled innocently before Nekomaru spoke. 

“A smack would be a good idea! I have the perfect one in mind!” Nekomaru yelled, as Fuyuhiko yelled at him.

“Like I said, you’ll kill him!” 

“Lukh! Lukh! He mufed!” Kazuichi began yelling under (name)’s hand, pointing at the unconscious body before she turned as well. (name) turned quickly, seeing the unconscious man begin to shift in his sleep and flutter his eyes open. Everyone became cautious, as he slowly sat up and looked around. 

“W-what the?! Who are you people?!” He was quick to react, hastily scooting backwards. His deep voice demanded answers, as (name) felt Kazuchi grabbed her shoulders as he hid behind her. 

“Who are you?” Hajime yelled cautiously, as the man quickly stood, his legs shaky and his forehead beading with sweat. He was quite tall. His eyes were as dark as his hair, but he looked pretty young as well. (name) would have guessed somewhere in his twenties. 

“How do I know you aren’t spies for those…  _ kids!  _ You all look pretty young to me!” He shouted frantically, as (name) furrowed her brow before Kazuichi shouted from behind her.

“W-what kids?! We’re just tryna get to that big tower over there!” The man glanced towards Towa Towers, as he scanned over the group. 

“Towa Towers?” They nodded. His suspension was still present on his face, with his eyes narrowed and his chin raised slightly. He paused, thinking deeply about something before speaking again. “Why do you want to get there?” 

“We want to know what happened to this city.” Chiaki answered, her cheeks puffed as she pouted slightly. 

“Huh? How could you  _ not  _ know what happened? Those evil  _ kids  _ and their Monokumas. That’s what destroyed this city!” 

“What.. kids are you talking about?” Nagito inquired, as the man’s eyes went wide before realization set into his features. 

“You… really don’t know what happened?” 

“We.. were kidnapped. Trapped in this game.” (name) spoke, as the man glanced at her, then towards the group again. 

“Haiji Towa.” He introduced himself, as it suddenly clicked in (name)’s head why he looked so familiar. He was one of the men in the newspaper. An heir to the Towa Foundation. 

“Wait. Haiji Towa?” Hajime beat her to it, as he simply sighed and rubbed the back of his neck with his good hand. 

“Yeah, yeah. My father founded Towa Towers, along with Towa Group. Anyways, if you’re trying to go to Towa Towers, you’re already dead.” He sighed, a solemn yet annoyed look on his face. 

“What do you mean?” (name) questioned, as he shot her a deadpanned look. 

“There are plenty of Monokumas coming from over there. Along with the Warriors of Hope, you’ll be dead in seconds.” 

“You mean, those machines are being manufactured inside?” Sonia questioned, her face turning a bit blue and paling. 

“You wouldn’t stand a chance. Especially not with  _ her.”  _ The last part he seemed to be talking to himself, but (name) caught it. She decided against mentioning it for now. 

“The Future Foundation is nowhere to be found either. Going there would be a death wish.” 

“But you’re a Towa! Can’t you… shut them down or something?!” Fuyuhiko spoke with frustration as Haiji had doubt spread across his face. 

“It’s possible. But going without certainty, you might as well sign your death warrant.” 

“We must do something! I cannot bear to see the world like this any longer!” Sonia cried, as (name) nodded as well. 

“I agree. We have to do something. With your help, we could shut down the Monokumas! Haiji, please?” She spoke, pleading. Haiji furrowed his brows, and gave her a stern look before looking towards the Towers, and grunting in frustration. 

“Alright! Fine. Let’s move.” He said without wasting a breath, and already began moving. The group exchanged quick glances to each other as Haiji yelled for them to move, and they began their journey to the Towers. 

It was a bad feeling. (name) seemed to be the queen of bad feelings, but she particularly got one from Haiji. She knew he was hiding something, not only was he very suspicious, but his character just seemed… off. (name) was the Ultimate Mentalist, so to say that she simply didn’t trust the man was an understatement. It was a terribly bad feeling. 

They walked cautiously, as Haiji had told them to be extremely quiet and to watch their step, due to the extremely cracked pavement. They passed alleyway after alleyway, with the smell of smoke lingering in the air with a dreadful breeze flowing through the air. As they walked, (name) made her way to Hajime, who seemed to be lost in thought. 

“Hajime.” She whispered, tugging on his shirt as he jumped slightly. 

“(name).” He sighed in relief. “What’s up?”

“I don’t trust Haiji. He’s hiding something. Big.” 

Hajime glanced at the man, who was leading their group carefully. 

“How do you know?” He asked, and (name) frowned. 

“It’s… just a feeling. It’s been bugging me since we met him.” 

“I trust you. I’ll keep an eye on him then.” Hajime replied and the two shared a look of agreement as they walked in silence once again. 

After walking for about an hour, they seemed to be almost halfway there as Haiji found a small place where they could take a break. He chose the darkest, shadiest alleyway out of the whole city, which had (name) on edge. She leaned against the brick wall that covered them, trying not to look at the two dead bodies and the blood splatter from where they laid. Everyone else had taken up the ground or leaning against the wall. 

She closed her eyes for only a second, and when she opened them, she was shocked to see a small child standing directly in front of her. The child wore a boy’s grey uniform, likely from a nearby elementary school. She could not see his face, due to the mask that covered it. It was Monokuma’s face, as the child held up a wrapped present to her. 

She was beyond confused, and too overwhelmed to scream, but Haiji did it for her when he suddenly shouted. 

“Hey!” His shout shot the child’s attention towards him, as he quickly placed the present on the ground before running off—the creepiest giggle echoed through the air as he sprinted off. 

“Fuck! How did they find us?! Come on, we’re leaving!” He commanded towards the group, and started to leave, but stopped when he saw (name) begin to open the present. 

“Don’t open that! It could be a trap!” He yelled, but it was too late as she had already lifted the box’s lid, to find a device inside. It seemed to be a monitor, of some time, as when she took it out of the box, its screen immediately flashed.

“Guys! Come look at this!” She spoke loudly, as her friends crowded around her. 

“What is this hideous device?” Gundham questioned, before Nagito answered. 

“It looks like a monitor.” 

“All I did was pick it up and now-“ 

_ “Hellooooo? Is this on? Testing! Testing! Ah, it is working!”  _ A small, girly voice suddenly spoke. The screen flashed, and was filled with static until it finally settled and the image of a girl, with bright green hair and eyes to match, stood before her. She had a sicking smile plastered on her face, and suddenly the bad feeling she previously had with Haiji was nothing compared to the girl on the screen. It was like she was staring despair in the face. 

“ _ Ah! Look at that! Such a pretty face that Monaca is looking at!” _

(name) was beyond confused. Who was this girl? 

“ _ Oh! Monaca must apologize! I’m Monaca, and Monaca’s a Mage in the Warriors of Hope!”  _ The girl named Monaca giggled, her giant eyes seeming to be piercing into her soul. (name) was almost taken back—was it so obvious what she was thinking?

“ _ You are (name)! Monaca’s been watching you for awhile now, and she wants to meet you all! Hurry and get here already! Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!”  _ She cheered, like an impatient child, as (name) glanced between her friends before speaking.

“How do you know my name?” 

“ _ Monaca already saiiiid she’s been watching you! Come on, hurry up so we can have some fun!”  _ And the screen switched off. (name) was left both confused, but her confusion turned to shock as Haiji quickly grabbed the monitor from her hands and threw it to the ground, shattering it into pieces. 

“Hey! What are you doing?!” (name) instantly yelled at the man, but stopped when she saw his face. It was contorted with pure anger, his features turning scary dark as he breathed heavy. 

“Let’s go.” Was all he said, as he stomped his way to Towa Towers. (name) glanced towards Fuyuhiko who gave her the same one back, as they kept walking as well. Doubts were soon present in the minds of the group.

“Maybe we shouldn’t go… It’s definitely a trap now…” Kazuichi muttered, pulling his beanie over his eyes. 

“It’s the only place we can go. Where else would we go?” Chiaki questioned, which made Kazuichi go quiet, having no better ideas. 

—

As they walked, (name)’s began to wander. (name) had experienced a lot in her life. From the moment she was born, she was already given a destiny that she wasn’t prepared for, but that’s just how it was. She was enrolled at Hope’s Peak Academy, and her life had set in motion. 

She dealt with many clients, from children to adults. She sent many people to psychiatric wards, some to prison, a few even to their deaths. She had always been asked to diagnose people—some of the evilest people she had ever met. Her parents never refused since they would always receive thousands of dollars from it. 

_“How dare you allow a child_ _to diagnose my son?! She’s evil! She doesn't know what she’s talking about!”_

_ “You killed my sister! She wasn’t sick, she just needed help!”  _

_ “You bitch! You don’t know anything about my father!”  _

_ “Don’t worry about them, (name). You keep doing what you’re doing. They’re just jealous of your incredible gift.”  _ Her mother would always whisper to her, but she could always see the stack of cash flowing through her mother’s hands through the corner of her eye. 

They always said that she was better than any psychiatrist known to man. Her gift was always different from that of someone with a psychology degree. For the longest time, she treated other people, and yet no one cared for her. She has always been used, which led her, ironically, into the depths of her darkened heart. 

So, to say that she was scared of the large Towers that awaited her, was far from the truth. She was simply tired, and knew that her body would give up on her at some point. 

“These are way taller than in that picture!” Akane shouted in awe, as (name) took a look at the giant statue in front of the door to the building, which read  _ TOWA TOWERS.  _ She began walking the steps, looking around for any Monokumas which were nowhere in sight. She didn’t see any Monokuma kids either, which surprised her. 

Upon entering, it was just as bad as the outside. The lobby was still very big, but completely demolished. Statues cracked, along with the ground, clearly missing chunks of the floor. The once pristine white floor was decorated with dirt and big patches of dried blood with broken stairs that looked like they would break with any pressure. 

“It appears to be in as much turmoil as the outside world.” Gundham muttered, as (name) nodded with her eyebrows turned with grimace as her eyes fell all around.

“Hey! Look at this!” Nekomaru suddenly shouted, as he was instantly shushed. “I found one of these… uh… gadget things!” He spoke in a slightly quieter voice. 

“That’s a computer, Nekomaru.” Hajime clarified, as he grabbed it and opened it. The screen had a large crack on it, and as Hajime doubted that it would work, he pressed the power button. The screen remained black, before a sudden static captured the screen and it lit up.

“Woah! It actually worked?” Fuyuhiko spoke as he rushed towards Hajime’s side. 

“We need a password. It says the profile is… T.Fuji.” 

“Who the fuck is T.Fuji?” Fuyuhiko questioned impatiently.

“Perhaps it could be related to Mount. Fuji?” Sonia asked innocently, as Hajime shrugged. 

“It has to be a person. Maybe it was someone who worked here?” Hajime concluded, almost about to start plugging in some random things until Chiaki spoke. 

“I found him.” She was crouched down towards the floor, as (name) and Kazuichi made their way to where she was. And she was correct, the smell of the dead body was so foul, so  _ unimaginable,  _ it made (name)’s stomach hurt. The man on the ground had brownish-blonde hair that looked dull, with his skin an odd grey color. He used to wear glasses, as the pair on his face were cracked and broken. (name) couldn’t look anymore, so she turned away and fought back the nausea that was trying to take control. “This is his wallet. Taichi Fujisaki.” Chiaki spoke, in an unbothered voice as she covered her nose with the sleeve of her jacket. 

“Anything about a password in there?” Kazuichi asked as Chiaki opened the wallet, to see credit cards, his license, and a couple pictures of his family. She flipped a picture of a baby, who had the same color eyes as the late Taichi. On the back it read,  _ 3.14.99 _ . 

“Ain’t that cake or something?” Akane asked, as (name) smiled. 

“It’s pi.” Nagito corrected, as a pleased smile was plastered on Akane’s face. 

“We’re in! But there’s no wifi or signal or anything.” Hajime sighed disappointedly. 

“We are pretty low to the ground. Maybe if we could get up higher we could find a signal?” Chiaki suggested, as (name) agreed. 

“Yeah, then we could get ahold of someone!” She became excited. “Hey Haiji! Now that we have this computer, we can contact someon—” She spoke as she turned, to see that Haiji had in fact, disappeared. “Huh? Where’d he go?” 

“It seems the fiend has fled to an unknown location.” Gundham spoke, as everyone turned their attention to where Haiji was.

“No one saw him leave? Where could he have gone?” (name) spoke confused, before she stopped herself when she felt a cold shiver shoot down her spine. It was a familiar feeling, one that she often felt when Monokuma had appeared, to give them a deadly riddle. A soft rumbling shook the ground, subtle yet she could indeed feel its presence. Turning in the direction of where she could feel that darkness seep into her pores, a large figure appeared. Quite literally rolled out of the darkness from behind the elevator, and it was the strangest thing (name) had ever seen. 

It had the face of Monokuma, but the physique of his body was the shape of a ball. It rolled out, that half-grin seeming to tease them, as the red eye glinted excitedly before it started to roll in place at a very high speed, faster than (name)’s eyes could handle. It took her half a second to understand what was happening, before Akane’s hands wrapped tightly around her before roughly pulling her to the side. Hitting the ground roughly, for a brief moment everything was muffled, although she could hear Hajime shout something, but everything felt like it was in slow motion. As soon as her body made contact with the ground, that airy, confused feeling she had broke as she landed hard on the ground. Then it was like the blockage got sucked out of her ears like a pop, and suddenly everything raced to normal.

“Run!” Kazuichi screamed, causing everyone to stumble and stagger as they ran in no particular direction. Akane had gotten up before (name) could decipher what was really going on, as she gripped onto her hand and started running, tugging (name) along with her. In its pursuit, the Monokuma crashed into the elevator, resulting in a huge indent on the side of it, with static sputtering from the lift, breaking it completely. The impact of the crash had caused the Monokuma to get stuck within the metal. (name) was dumbfounded, then snapped out of her daze when she heard Fuyuhiko’s voice. 

“Over here! Hurry!” (name)’s head snapped towards the sound of his voice, and saw him waving his arm over towards a once beautiful set of stairs now demolished, chunks of it missing that matched with the broken pieces on the ground. They were quick to climb up the stairs, running faster then what felt like was humanly possible. Upon making it to the second floor, it was very open like the first floor. But they didn’t have time to look around when another large Monokuma came rolling to the side. As Kazuichi tried to dash the other way, another one appeared, and soon they were trapped in a circle of round Monokumas. 

The mechanical laughter of the panicked faces echoed in the air, as their eyes strobed a red glow at the same time. Their toothy grins seemed bigger, as if they were staring at pieces of meat. 

“What do we do?!” Sonia cried out.

“We’re trapped!” Hajime answered, as everyone looked frantically left and right for an opening, to no avail. Nekomaru and Akane placed themselves in front of the group, preparing to attack. 

“You guys—” (name) called out before the Monokumas screeched loudly and she braced herself. But before she could prepare herself, a sudden voice screamed out. 

“You called for me, and so I appear!~” An almost cheery voice spoke, when (name) opened her eyes, a sharp glint blinded her as it sounded like metal slashing against metal. Harsh grunts were present as well, before suddenly it was over. Before she knew it, the large Monokumas that almost killed her friends were completely torn up, split in half and sparking from the damage. Only a few feet ahead of her was a girl, with long jagged hair that almost swept the ground. Her back was facing towards her, and it was then that a very sharp pair of scissors dangled from her hand carelessly. 

“W-who… who are you?!” Hajime sputtered, completely flustered from the whole situation. It was then that the girl turned around, with a large pair of glasses shielding her blood red eyes, and an unnaturally large tongue hanging out of her mouth. She had an annoyed look on her face, which dropped in a second before she busted into a fit of ugly laughter, drool spilling out of her mouth before she smiled. Not a soft smile, but one that would haunt anyone dreams. She gave a look that was  _ murderous,  _ in the most dangerous kind of way. 

“Kyehahahaha! I’m the Ultimate Murderous Fiend,  _ Genocide Jack!”  _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yesssss toko in the buildinggggg
> 
> hope you enjoyed & are staying safe! 
> 
> -me


	18. 17

“You mean—you’re a murderer?” (name) spoke at the young girl who introduced herself with the sharpest pair of scissors she had ever seen. Genocide Jack merely glanced at her before (name) felt a line of heat on her cheek, reached up to her cheek and felt blood rush down it and along her fingers and looked at Jack to realize that she had swiped her with those sharp blades.

“Hey! What the fuck are you doing?!” Fuyuhiko yelled at Genocide Jack, pushing (name) defensively back behind him. Nekomaru stepped forward too, reading himself. Genocide Jack—completely unfazed by the intimidation—only pulled out six more pairs and raised her arms in a crossed fashion, ready to throw them at any moment. 

“Toko!” An unfamiliar voice spoke, gentler than Jack’s, as she ran towards the group. She was a student, seeing as she wore an old school uniform that was slightly dirty. She carried what also looked like a megaphone in her hand cautiously. Her hair was short, and her skin was pale as sweat beaded up on her forehead. 

“Huh?  _ Ughh _ ! Omaru always ruins  _ my  _ fun!” The girl named ‘Omaru’ stood by the girl called ‘Toko’, panting and out of breath. 

“Toko! You can’t just run off like that! You know it’s hard for me to catch up!” Komaru’s voice trembled with complaints and whines, as Toko limply lowered her arms and placed a hand on her hip and twirled a pair of scissors in her other hand, with a disturbingly annoyed look on her face. 

“Maybe  _ you _ just need to catch up! You’re too slow, Omaru, it’s not my fault—!” She suddenly stopped, grimace replacing annoyance as she sneezed. (name) watched curiously as Toko’s ragged hair seemed to fall normally down her shoulders, as her red eyes were replaced with a soft brown and her extremely long tongue was gone. 

“Huh? What happened?” Her voice was different, softer like a normal teenage girl. Her demeanor changed as well—the look of murderous intent was now shy, as her body seemed to shrink a bit. (name)’s face dropped, feeling herself go pale for a few moments until she realized what had happened. This girl has dissociative identity disorder. 

“What the  _ hell  _ is happening?!” Kazuichi screeched, making (name) wince from the sudden noise. 

“Oh! I’m sorry! I’m Komaru, and this is Toko! We saw you in trouble, but before  _ I  _ could do anything, Toko just jumped right in!”

“It was  _ her _ , not me!” Toko whined, implying about her other self. 

“What’s that weapon you carry in your hand, fiend?” Gundham spoke, motioning to what looked like a megaphone in Komaru’s hand. 

“Oh, this is how I fight against the Monokumas! You see—” She was cut off as Toko shoved her hands onto Komaru’s mouth. 

“Omaru! We don’t even know these people and you’re just ready to tell them all of our secrets! They could be with the Warriors of Hope!” 

“Hey! We could say the same about you!” Nekomaru countered. 

“Why exactly are you guys here?” Hajime questioned, as Toko and Komaru shared a glance before Komaru began talking. 

“We are trying to save this city! But we need to find my brother! He can help!” 

“How’s he gonna help?” Akane spoke.

“He’s a part of the Future Foundation! We just have to get this transmitter to a high elevation then we can contact him!“

(name)’s heart stopped as she looked towards Komaru. She looked familiar—had she ever seen her before? In her heart, she knew that she didn’t know Komaru, but from her dark hair, round face and her  _ eyes _ —why did she feel so familiar? 

“The Future Foundation? Are they here in the city?” Hajime questioned.

“Then, does that mean—“ Sonia questioned, before she was cut off by Toko. 

“T-That doesn’t matter right now! We need to contact h-him before more of those things show up!” Toko gripped Komaru’s sleeve, maneuvering around the destroyed Monokumas and heading for the closest set of stairs. (name) and her friends shared a hesitant glance before they followed. 

—

(name)’s mind felt like it was running on adrenaline. Her mind was jumping everywhere, causing her to feel a headache coming on. Someone from the Future Foundation! This could be their savior! But she still didn’t understand why she had the  _ nagging _ feeling like she knew or seen Komaru before. Her head pounded with a headache and her legs and arm throbbed, probably from pulling her stitches. She had a hard time climbing all those stairs, but she fought through the pain. 

After climbing a long set of stairs, they had finally reached what looked like an elevator. It looked broken down, and it appeared to not be working either. 

Hajime headed for the button that had an arrow pointed up, and pushed it. But when nothing happened, he pushed it multiple times to no avail. 

“Of course it doesn’t work! Nothing is going our way at all…” Kazuichi whined from behind (name), who sighed in disappointment. 

Chiaki walked towards the elevator, staring at a component of the elevator as her eyes gleamed for a second before she turned back towards them. 

“It has a scanner. We should be able to get it working if we find the right person to scan… I think.” 

“A scanner? L-like one that has to scan e-eyes or something?” Toko stuttered nervously. Chiaki nodded. 

“But...everyone is dead. Who would be able to open this?” (name) questioned, before Komaru answered.

“Well, this is Towa Towers. Maybe it’s one of the founders?” 

“Well, that’s fucking great. That coward Haiji dipped as soon as we walked into this place.” Fuyuhiko spat with sarcasm and annoyance, shaking his head as he tapped his foot on the carpeted ground. 

“Haiji? You mean Haiji Towa? He was with you?” Komaru spoke in surprise, (name) nodded.

“Yeah. But he disappeared. We don’t know where he went.” (name) sighed. 

“The only other p-person would be…Tokuichi Towa.” Toko declared.

“Is he...the founder of this facility?” Sonia questioned, cold sweat glistening on her forehead as Toko nodded. 

“I find it hard to believe that he’s alive.” Nagito chuckled nervously. 

“Now what are we gonna do?” Akane groaned, as the room fell silent. It was Nekomaru that broke it.

“Is...that him?” (name) followed his gaze to the wall. A divider several feet away protruded from the wall prevented a full appearance to be shown, but on the ground was a pair of feet, along with blood coating the darkened carpet. The feet were all she could see, but she felt herself pale. Whoever it was didn’t seem to be moving. Everyone was looking in the direction that Nekomaru had pointed, grimacing. 

“Not it!” Kazuichi suddenly called out, to which everyone called out before (name) could react. 

Ten “Not it!” echoed through the room, and soon everyone was looking at (name). 

“Sorry, (name).” Akane spoke with a chuckle and grin.

“D-d-don’t worry, M-miss (name)! I-I can do it for y-you!” Kazuichi offered, but (name) could see his legs shake and his face pale, and shook her head. 

“It’s o-okay. I can do it. You all have been doing so much for me.” (name) reassured him. 

“Are you sure?” Nagito asked, and (name) nodded. 

(name)’s brows furrowed, as she swallowed her fear down, hugging herself with her arms as she made her way to the divider that hid most of the body. Her feet felt like lead, heavy and she felt cold as well. She braced herself as she turned past the divider to see the body in its full appearance.

It was even worse than she could ever imagine. The body was laying flat on its face, which she determined was a man. There was so much blood that the smell made her nauseous, having to turn away for a moment. She knew she would have to touch the body, and the thought made her shiver. She knelt down, and grabbed his shoulder quickly and flipped him over. She quietly whimpered, feeling completely  _ dirty _ and cold all over.

She could see the cause of the blood. His throat had been torn apart, coating his chest, running all the way down his body. It was something she was definitely not ready to see as she turned and gagged. 

“(name)? Are you okay?” Sonia’s voice came from the other side of the divider. (name) swallowed her fear and responded.

“Y-y-yeah… I-I’m f..fine!” Her shaking voice must’ve given away for act, but she had to get this done. 

She placed her hands in his coat pockets, shuddering and feeling immensely guilty but had to ignore it. She felt something solid, and pulled it out to see an identification card. It had blood splotches on it, but it read  _ TOKUICHI TOWA,  _ with a picture of him. 

She gulped, feeling slightly relieved that they had found the person they needed. She gave him a look over, and noticed that he still had his eyes and just hoped that this would work even though he was already dead. She took another breath, as she slipped her arms under his, shivering at his cold, lifeless body as she headed to lift him up. 

He was heavy—being a grown man after all. She managed to gather her strength and heave him up, and his head flew backward as she used her strength to lift him, while still trying to create some distance from his body touching her body. In that same moment, she tried to look in a different direction when she felt something rather heavy land on her feet. She paled, her body stopping completely—processing that something had  _ indeed  _ fallen on her shoes. She was shaking, before slowly lowering her head, praying it wasn’t what she thought it was. 

On the other side of the divider, her friends waited patiently before a sharp, piercing scream echoed from the other side of the divider. They all shared quick glances—it took only a millisecond to realize that the scream was (name)’s, as they rushed to the other side. 

“(name)!” Hajime and Fuyuhiko called at the same time, with those two being the first to go past the divider and see the cause of her scream. She was pressed against the opposite corner of the body, frightened tears falling down her cheeks as they gazed at the cause of her fear. Only centimeters away, the head of the late Tokuichi Towa had rolled onto the ground when (name) lifted him, caused by his torn throat. His lifeless eyes staring at (name)’s (color) ones. Splatters of blood hit against her pant leg and her shoes, almost feeling ice cold, causing her to shiver. 

Maybe in the future, when she looked back at this exact moment, this whole situation could’ve been incredibly hilarious. But, in this moment, it absolutely was not. 

Soon everyone reached the divider, and gazed upon the scene, with their faces matching (name)’s.

“I think I’m gonna be sick.” Kazuichi spoke, his face turning a bit green as he placed a hand over his mouth to prevent the vomit from escaping. 

“Oh my goodness…” Sonia placed a hand over her face in shock.

“Holy shit…” Fuyuhiko spoke with Nagito perking up next to him.

“How disturbing…” 

“Yo! That’s seriously nasty!” Akane announced with a shaky grin on her face before Kazuichi spoke again. 

“Why are you smiling?!”

“Is that his head?!” Komaru paled. 

“ _ Ah!  _ Don’t look, don’t look, don’t look—“ Toko mumbled next to Komaru, squeezing her eyes shut and putting her hands over her glasses to prevent her from seeing. 

“G-g-get it away from me! G-get it away!” (name) scrambled from the corner she was in, frantically moving her feet, ignoring the throbbing pain as she tried to shuffle backwards, only stopping by the wall. 

“Nekomaru! H-hurry and grab it!” Fuyuhiko commanded, failing to hide the shakiness in his voice.

“WHY ME?!”

“I ain’t touching that.” Akane stated, and Kazuichi hid behind her, agreeing as well. 

“Someone please get it away!” (name) whimpered, shutting her eyes tight. What she didn’t see with her eyes shut, was that in a quick moment, someone had picked up the head and put it inside a nearby plastic bag. Shoving it into Hajime’s hands—which erupted a quick shriek from him as he comically shuddered—(name) peeked her eyes open, and instead of meeting the ghostly eyes of the decapitated head, she was met with a bandaged hand. 

“I have removed the corpse from your sight.” Gundham spoke, with him kneeling in front of her with his hand held out to her. Her teary eyes glistened as she looked between his hand and his eyes, feeling eternally grateful. She grabbed his hand, as he gently helped her up. 

She clung to his hand, still shaking astoundingly at the thought of the head, who Hajime was currently holding—his face was blue and he held out the head at arms reach, before he turned slowly almost like a robot, towards the elevator.

They followed, everyone in a trance of quiet fear as they reached the elevator. Hajime pressed the head to the scanner, and when the elevator beeped, he took the head, and threw it over the staircase in one swift motion. A breath of relief left her as they would no longer have to deal with the head of a dead man. They piled up into the elevator, and headed upward as intended.

  
  


—

  
  


After a couple short minutes, the elevator halted to a stop, as they hit the highest floor they could. When the elevator opened, they were greeted with pure darkness. Literally.

“What the hell?! What’s up with the lights?!” Kazuichi screeched, habitually pulling his beanie over his eyes. 

“W-why’s it so dark?” (name) sputtered, feeling the cold sweat build up again. She had faced so much in what felt like years. The killing games, deaths, dead bodies—she felt like she could deal with it all. But there was one thing that her heart couldn’t take. She absolutely hated the dark.  _ Hated.  _ She didn’t want to know what was hiding in it. 

“T-the p-power is probably off in this section of the tower.” Toko answered, as Komaru gripped on her megaphone as she held in defensively in front of her. 

“W-we’ll, let’s go, everyone.” Komaru announced, before taking a step into the darkness. (name) was hesitant, but felt Gundham squeeze her hand a bit more. He lifted his scarf up with his free hand, not even looking the least bit concerned of the darkness as he stared ahead. It was enough to give (name) the strength to keep moving forward—she wasn’t alone. 

Komaru and Toko leading in the front, with small frightened mumblin coming from the group and the constant sharp yelps coming from Kazuichi. 

“Kazuichi, can you please stop? You’re freaking me out.” Hajime spoke to Kazuichi, completely blind in the darkness walking aimlessly. They had managed to form a line, with Akane holding onto the back of (name)’s shirt, with Kazuichi and Sonia and everyone following behind. 

“It’s not my fault! Nagito keeps touching my neck!” Kazuichi complained.

“I’m sorry. I can’t help it.” Nagito chuckled behind Kazuichi, causing a faint smile to reach (name)’s face. 

“IT’S SO DARK! IT’S MAKING MY STOMACH HURT!” Nekomaru boomed, as Fuyuhiko shushed him.

“Shut up, you idiot! Do you want us to get caught?!” Fuyuhiko countered, prompting Nekomaru to apologize quietly.

“Yeah, all this sneakin’ in the dark is making me hungry! Does anyone got any food?” Akane yelled, immediately getting shushed by the people surrounding her. 

“I find it very unlikely that anyone is harboring food.” Gundham’s voice rumbled from the darkness, following Akane’s whine. 

“Ow! That was my foot.” Chiaki huffed.

“My apologies!” Sonia perked up next. 

“Oh! I think this is a door, everyone!” Komaru suddenly called, with Toko speaking next.

“Looks l-likes there’s l-light under there too!” (name) perked up, subconsciously squeezing Gundham’s hand a bit tighter. 

Komaru opened the small door and they were greeted with light. The room was huge—being at the highest room of Towa Towers, spotting a large desk with papers and books strewn about, a few torn up couches and some old bookshelves, it was fair to assume that it was an office of someone’s. It wasn’t very bright, but due to the giant windows behind the large desk that peered in the red from the sky, it was enough light to maneuver around. Upon looking outside, they were  _ very  _ high from the ground, even hosting a balcony outside the large windows.

“Okay! We should get a signal from here!” Komaru spoke, before she pulled out the transmitter and placed it on the desk. She pressed a button on the side and it lit up, filling the room with static. 

“Great. It doesn’t even work!” Kazuichi groaned, shaking his head as he paced away. 

“Oh no. This was our last hope.” Sonia sighed in disappointment. 

“No, there’s no way. It should work—It  _ has  _ to work!” Komaru pleaded, hitting the side of the computer in a frantic panic. 

“Wait.” Chiaki stopped her, gesturing to the green static of the screen. “Look there.” 

**_“...llo? ...yone...ere?”_** A small voice perked up from the device, as they all practically rushed over to it. The room fell silent, all staring expectantly at the monitor upon hearing the voice. It was staticky, but becoming clearer. _“..._ ** _is is Ma...o Nae...i… of t..he Fut...e… Foundation! ..Wh…s there?”_** A very familiar voice spoke, and (name)’s heart quickened.

“Makoto?! Makoto Naegi?! Is that you?!” Komaru was practically jumping up and down, as Makoto’s voice became more clear. 

_ “ _ **_K..omaru? Is that you?!”_ **

“Yes! It’s me! It’s Komaru!” A relieved breath escaped Makoto’s mouth, and even though they couldn’t see his face, (name) could practically hear the smile forming on his face. 

“ **_Komaru… I’m relieved that you’re safe._ ** **”** Komaru suddenly burst into tears of joy. 

“M..Makoto! I’m so happy you’re alive! What about Mom and Dad? Are they with you?”  _ Mom and Dad?  _ (name) quickly wondered what she meant, but didn’t take long for her to fully connect the dots. 

“ **_No. I’m sorry. I don’t know where they are._ ** **”**

“Oh. It’s okay. We are at Towa Towers! Please, you have to come quick, Makoto!”

“ **_Towa Towers? Okay, I’ll let everyone here know! Hey, Komaru. Have you seen somebody named Toko anywhere?”_ **

“Hmph! So now you care where I’ve been? No one cares about the missing intern.” Toko spoke up, with slight bitter yet something warm as well.

“ ** _Toko! Of course I care about you! I just assumed that when Byakuya left, you just tagged along as well.”_** Makoto gave a weary chuckle from behind the scene before Kazuichi couldn’t contain his patience anymore. 

“Hey! We’re here too!” 

“ **_Huh? Who.. wait…”_ ** Makoto whispered to himself as (name) rushed besides Komaru. 

“Makoto! Is that really you?” She spoke, as he went quiet for a couple seconds that felt like a lifetime. 

**“(** **_name_ ** **)** **_? Is that..you?_ ** **”** He sounded shocked.

“Yes! Yes! But not just me—we’re all here! Well, most of us.” (name) glanced towards her friends, and felt their hearts sink in sadness. 

“ **_What do you mean? Who’s all there?”_ **

“It’s me, and Kazuichi, Nekomaru, Gundham, Chiaki, Akane, Fuyuhiko, Hajime, Sonia and Nagito.”

_ “ _ **_Wait, where is everyone else?”_ ** (name) fell silent, feeling her heart wince at the question. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she looked to see Hajime, who gave her a reassuring look.

“They’re dead, Makoto.” Hajime answered, then it was Makoto who was silent. The silence was painful, and (name) almost couldn’t bear it until he spoke quietly.

“ **_Was...was it the Monokumas?”_ **

“No. We were trapped in…another killing game.” 

**_“A...killing game?”_ ** His voice was filled with shock, as his voice dropped an octave. 

“We were trapped on this fucked up replica of an airplane! We only escaped hours ago!” Fuyuhiko spoke next, standing next to Hajime.

**_“This…okay. Do any of you remember anything before you were trapped? Anything at all?”_ ** (name) glancing at her friends behind her, who all shook their heads negatively. She then looked towards Fuyuhiko and Hajime, who gave her the same look. 

“No. It’s been a blank this whole time, Makoto.” (name) answered, as Makoto gave off a shaky breath, and it made her nervous. He paused again, only allowing the quiet static of the receiver echo through the large room, before he finally spoke again.

**_“I was afraid of that. (name), everyone. You’ve been missing for two years.”_ **

She felt her heart stop. It’s last beat sent waves of shocking chills through her body, making her feel cold and disconnected at the same time. Her heart ached, as her chest got tight. 

“Wha..? But..how..we..no! There’s no way!” Akane shouted through the still room. Everyone’s feelings were the same—despairing, and (name) could feel it all. 

**_“I’m so sorry. The Future Foundation..no.. I’ve been looking for you all this time! After we freed you from the pods, we had arrangements to fly you to a distant island where you could recuperate properly, but the plane was hijacked.”_ **

“But...we do not recall this!” Gundham added next, beads of sweat growing on his forehead.

**_“That’s what I was afraid of. I believe whoever kidnapped you must’ve hit you with some kind of toxins. It must’ve been a lot if you can’t remember.”_ **

“How could two years have passed?! I mean, that’s crazy!” Kazuichi questioned, he was visibly shaking.

**_“It must have been some kind of cold sleep, or maybe the drugs they got you with were incredibly potent and it put you into a coma.”_ **

“This is fucked up...This is so fucked…” Fuyuhiko muttered, his hands on his head. 

“Makoto, do you have any idea why? Why did they take us?” Nagito asked. (name) wanted to know as well—the most important question amongst all the others growing in her head. There was a faint pause, before Makoto started speaking again.

**_“I think...to fill the world with even more despair.”_ **

_ Despair?  _

“What?” Komaru gasped in shock, with Toko confused as well.

**_“If they had you, the world would definitely fall apart. To have the world’s most hopeful students fall into despair, it would be the end for humanity.”_ **

(name) only had one question.

“Who? Who did this to us?”

**_“It...yes…It has to be the same people who c...d he...mas! Be ca..f..l! T..y ..re wa..t..ing you!”_ ** Suddenly, Makoto’s voice began to become static, his words becoming more scattered and broken up before the connection was completely cut out. 

“Makoto! Makoto!” Komaru shouted, shaking the transmitter before flinching back when the transmitter completely busted into static and fumes. 

“He’s gone.” (name) whispered, a stinging piercing the back of her eyes, as she suddenly began to feel dizzy. 

“Dammit!” Fuyuhiko shouted in frustration. They stood there in silence, a painful, despairing silence as they thought back to what Makoto had said. 

_ It couldn’t be true. Two years? There’s no way.  _ (name) repeated in her head over and over again, but she didn’t know what to think. But she didn’t have the time to think.

Suddenly, she was taken out of thoughts when a loud crash echoed entered the room, shattering the glass of the large windows as she looked to the right. Broken glass coated the ground, following a swift gush of winds. Shrieks filled the room as they cowered from the harsh spray of glass, before (name) looked to what had caused the commotion. It was a red giant robot, enhanced with severe, sharp features that enhanced its intimidation. Along its back, (name) could see the protruding weapon of a large red axe that matched the patterns and aligning of the robot. Her heart was pounding, fear racing through her blood. Faster than she could predict, the robot moved so fast that (name) had hardly recognized that she had been grabbed tightly around the torso, and roughly jerked to the side. 

“(name)!” Nekomaru, Akane, and Chiaki called out, and before anyone could react the robot reached out and grabbed Komaru with its other free hand, dropping her megaphone as a small shriek escaped her. 

“Omaru!” 

“Toko!” Komaru screamed. 

And in that same second, the robot jumped back from the side of the building, taking Komaru and (name) with it. The cold air flushed her skin first as her whipped and danced as they fell from the building. (name)’s heart was racing so fast and her breathing had temporarily stopped and due from the sudden drop her body had just begun to register, she was soon unconscious, meeting the darkness that awaited her. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, this shouldn't have taken me this long to finally get out and i apologize! i lost some motivation to write like a month and I've been slowly getting myself back into it. just trying to take it one day at a time! 
> 
> and i wrote this years ago so i don't really remember where i wanted the character plot to go, but just keep in mind that this SDR2 group's plot is more of an au thing where they aren't the sole cause of the Most Tragic Event. most questions should be answered in the next chapter, which is gonna be the second to last one! So we are pretty much ninety percent done with this story! 
> 
> i don't know when that next chapter will be fully edited, but im adding some extra stuff for the epilogue which should be pretty exciting. i need to explore the characters of SDR2 and refresh my memory of everything going on. i plan to post the next chapter, then the extras, then the epilogue pretty much all in the same day, so i'll have to get those all written before i post anything. thanks for being so patient! 
> 
> anyway, i hope you enjoyed and i hope you're ready for the finale! until then! 
> 
> -me

**Author's Note:**

> hello and welcome to another new story that i am posting on archive! this is actually a revised version that i had previously posted on Quotev (my username is luna, go check me out! i am way more active on Quotev than anything else) so after about three years i have decided to finally reedit this so that i can post it on more platforms. 
> 
> This story is a different killing game that i created when i was traveling a couple years ago-and a plane was my inspiration at the time.


End file.
